Migrant smuggling network dismantled by INTERPOL

INTERPOL COLOMBIA has dismantled a criminal network dedicated to the trafficking of migrants through the Panamanian jungle.

The group guided citizens from countries such as Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, China, Somalia, India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, to cross the Darien Gap and charged up to $4,500 to transport 294 people, including nine minors.

The logistics that the group used to achieve its objective were well set up: on Colombian soil, the migrants were taken by land from the borders with Ecuador, Venezuela, and Brazil, until they reached Necoclí, a town in Urabá Antioquia, which has become famous internationally, because of its relevance in migratory flows to the United States. There they were left in the hands of others to take them through winding trails of the Darien jungle.

They mobilized their clients in tourism service vehicles, to facilitate irregular transit in Colombian territory, until reaching the border with Panama. They made up to four trips a week.

The leader of the network Carlos Alberto Coy García, was captured in Ipiales, in the Nariño department, on the border with Ecuador.

Last September, the position of Colombian President Gustavo Petro generated controversy and debate, because while Panama and Costa Rica are committed to managing migratory flows, Colombia spoke of “freedom of movement.” Petro is of the thesis that countries should not have visas, because for him the most important thing is to solve the cause of migration.

According to statistics from the National Immigration Service, between January and December 14, 508,288 people crossed the Darién Gap. On Panamanian soil, they are welcomed in some of the four shelters in Darién: San Vicente, Canaán Membrillo, Bajo Chiquito, and Lajas Blancas.

This Monday, December 18, International Migrants Day is commemorated. Regarding the date, the United Nations raised the “urgent need” for the international community to provide people-centered and evidence-based solutions so that people can remain in their communities, and for those who wish or must move.

Pope Francis, lamented the situation of the thousands of immigrants who cross the dangerous Darien jungle between Colombia and Panama, and He called for “a humanitarian response” to “avoid this tragic reality”, on Sunday.