What is the Darien Gap?

The Darien Gap is a 66-mile stretch of jungle between Colombia and Panama that migrants traverse to reach the United States.

Why do migrants travel through the Darien Gap?

Migrants travel through the Darien Gap as it is the only land route connecting South America to Central America, en route to the US.

What dangers do migrants face in the Darien Gap?

Migrants face dangers such as exhaustion, disease, drowning, robbery, assault, and even death.

How many people attempt to cross the Darien Gap?

Roughly a quarter of a million people attempted the journey last year, with the number increasing.

Who controls the routes in the Darien Gap?

A drug cartel controls the routes, charging migrants for passage.

What challenges do children face on this journey?

Many children are on this treacherous journey, facing similar, if not more severe, risks as adults.

Why are people compelled to undertake this dangerous journey?

People are driven by factors like climate change, conflict, corruption, and the hope for a better life.

How do migrants prepare for the journey?

Many migrants seem unprepared for the harsh conditions, with limited supplies like crackers and sneakers.

What are the conditions like in the Darien Gap jungle?

The conditions are treacherous, with dense jungle, rivers, mud, and steep mountainsides.

Who conducted the report in the video?

The report was conducted by Nick Paton Walsh and his team for CNN.

(Part 1) The Trek: A Migrant Trail to America | The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper

00:15:21

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOWthjWmS2s

Summary

TLDRThe video provides a detailed account of the perilous journey migrants endure as they traverse the Darien Gap, a 66-mile stretch of dense jungle between Colombia and Panama, aiming to reach the United States. Anderson Cooper introduces the story on 'The Whole Story,' documenting the immense challenges faced by these travelers, including treacherous terrain, exhaustion, disease, robberies, and violence, all orchestrated by a drug cartel controlling the routes. The journey is marked by steep climbs, rivers to cross, and an overwhelming number of migrants, many of whom are children. Despite the dangers, these individuals are driven by dreams of reaching America and escaping dire conditions in their home countries, often exacerbated by climate, conflict, and corruption. The segment also highlights the resilience and determination of the migrants, while humanizing the perilous trek through first-hand accounts from families and individuals making the daunting journey.

Takeaways

⚠️ The Darien Gap is a 66-mile dangerous jungle stretch that migrants traverse to reach the US.
💰 A drug cartel controls the routes, charging passage fees.
👶 A significant number of children make this perilous journey.
🌿 The jungle presents challenges with rivers, mud, and steep climbs.
💔 Migrants face threats of robbery, assault, and even death.
💡 People undertake this journey due to climate, conflict, and corruption at home.
🎒 Migrants often are unprepared for the harsh conditions.
👣 Exhaustion and disease are common among migrants.
📈 The number of people undertaking the journey has dramatically increased.
🌞 Many undertake this journey with the dream of a better future in America.

Timeline

00:00:00 - 00:05:00
Nick Paton Walsh and his team embark on a perilous journey through the Darien Gap, a notorious 66-mile stretch of jungle between Colombia and Panama. This formidable path is the only land route connecting South America to Central America, posing immense risks like exhaustion, disease, and violence to thousands of migrants aiming for the US. Alongside the staggering increase in travelers, there’s an alarming surge in children making the journey. The migrants gather, ready for the perilous trek that offers hope and opportunity amidst adversity, underlining the universal dream of a better life despite overwhelming challenges.
00:05:00 - 00:10:00
The migrants, controlled and organized by a cartel, proceed through the jungle towards the US. Despite the dangers of dehydration, disease, and deportation, their hopes center on reaching America. Their journey, mapped by color-coded armbands, signifies their payment and progression through the grueling path. The group consists of diverse nationalities, united by a common dream. Challenges such as separating from loved ones and the harsh natural environment never deter them, underlining their resilience. Yet, amidst hope is despair, illustrated by the increasing number of unaccompanied children and horrifying conditions they endure.
00:10:00 - 00:15:21
As the journey progresses, the migrants face intensifying challenges while they traverse the jungle. The second day brings added strain as the extent of the hardship becomes apparent. Tensions rise with the growing density of people at makeshift camps. Yet, under the cartel's structured system, they persist. Despite exhaustion and illness, such as a child's worsening fever, they are pushed forward by desperation and the slim prospect of a better future. Every step, though organized by the cartel, is riddled with danger, yet driven by dreams and the dire need to escape the devastations left behind, like climate and conflict, spurring them to persist until they reach the summit and face the journey ahead.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

What is the Darien Gap?
The Darien Gap is a 66-mile stretch of jungle between Colombia and Panama that migrants traverse to reach the United States.
Why do migrants travel through the Darien Gap?
Migrants travel through the Darien Gap as it is the only land route connecting South America to Central America, en route to the US.
What dangers do migrants face in the Darien Gap?
Migrants face dangers such as exhaustion, disease, drowning, robbery, assault, and even death.
How many people attempt to cross the Darien Gap?
Roughly a quarter of a million people attempted the journey last year, with the number increasing.
Who controls the routes in the Darien Gap?
A drug cartel controls the routes, charging migrants for passage.
What challenges do children face on this journey?
Many children are on this treacherous journey, facing similar, if not more severe, risks as adults.
Why are people compelled to undertake this dangerous journey?
People are driven by factors like climate change, conflict, corruption, and the hope for a better life.
How do migrants prepare for the journey?
Many migrants seem unprepared for the harsh conditions, with limited supplies like crackers and sneakers.
What are the conditions like in the Darien Gap jungle?
The conditions are treacherous, with dense jungle, rivers, mud, and steep mountainsides.
Who conducted the report in the video?
The report was conducted by Nick Paton Walsh and his team for CNN.

View more video summaries

Get instant access to free YouTube video summaries powered by AI!

Subtitles

Auto Scroll:

00:00:04
Coming up on the whole story.
00:00:06
This is just one enormous
00:00:08
traffic jam of people through the jungle.
00:00:13
It's a hot
00:00:15
war.
00:00:16
Everybody look, fire.
00:00:18
Everybody made be die here.
00:00:21
But
00:00:22
what was there to see took so
00:00:25
much
00:00:28
Good evening.
00:00:28
Welcome to the whole story.
00:00:29
I'm Anderson Cooper.
00:00:30
Starting tonight,
00:00:31
we are bringing you
00:00:31
the best of CNN
00:00:32
storytelling from our reporters
00:00:34
and anchors all over the world.
00:00:36
It's one whole story one whole hour.
00:00:38
Every Sunday at 8 p.m..
00:00:40
Tonight, we take you on a dangerous
00:00:42
and difficult journey
00:00:43
through the debris and gap.
00:00:44
The only land route
00:00:45
connecting South America
00:00:46
to Central America.
00:00:48
It's a 66 mile
00:00:49
stretch of jungle
00:00:50
between Colombia and Panama.
00:00:52
So migrants hoping to get to the US
00:00:54
have to get through the Darien Gap first.
00:00:57
That means trekking through rivers
00:00:59
and mud and up steep mountainsides
00:01:01
along the way.
00:01:02
They face exhaustion, disease, drowning,
00:01:04
and the
00:01:05
very real risk of being robbed assaulted
00:01:07
or even killed.
00:01:09
So far this year, five times
00:01:11
as many people have made
00:01:12
this journey compared
00:01:12
to the same period last year.
00:01:14
And a record number of them are children.
00:01:17
To see what they face.
00:01:18
Nick Paton
00:01:19
Walsh and his team recently
00:01:20
walked the entire route.
00:01:22
Some of the things he saw along
00:01:23
the way are graphic and hard to watch.
00:01:25
But we want you to see the reality
00:01:27
of what's happening on the track.
00:01:29
A migrant trail to America
00:01:47
Sometimes a
00:01:47
dream soldier, a nightmare first.
00:01:51
And beauty is deepest in a place
00:01:54
you may never get out of.
00:01:56
And the need to keep moving
00:01:58
is the only thing left to carry.
00:02:01
Roughly
00:02:02
a quarter of a million
00:02:03
humans last year
00:02:04
walked for four deadly days
00:02:06
through this, the Dorian Gap.
00:02:09
An untold number do not make it
00:02:12
a much, much bigger number.
00:02:14
Do
00:02:15
And with every moment of success,
00:02:17
resilience and even cost and suffering
00:02:20
evermore come
00:02:21
and they come in
00:02:22
and the world may be on the move.
00:02:24
Because of climate,
00:02:25
conflict and corruption.
00:02:28
But here is
00:02:29
where the most of them are on foot
00:02:33
These are the stories of people
00:02:35
from just five days
00:02:37
who are usually through only
00:02:40
an endless train in the jungle
00:02:42
of pain, hope, loss and grit
00:02:46
through the world's
00:02:47
biggest hole in the fence.
00:02:54
They gather under a glowering dusk,
00:02:57
as if to say goodbye to their own lives.
00:03:00
In the hope.
00:03:00
The dawn ahead is new of a promise
00:03:03
and opportunity
00:03:04
they have never known before.
00:03:05
And your final thought of you
00:03:08
and your men.
00:03:11
And I'm not that bad either.
00:03:13
If I said I'm not doing this,
00:03:16
I hope that there will
00:03:17
be a new pestilence
00:03:19
that can be in my spirit.
00:03:20
That's not the name of me, ever.
00:03:23
I mean, just nothing as offensive,
00:03:27
but it's not a prayer that decides
00:03:29
who make it. It's money.
00:03:32
This is a large voluntary
00:03:34
trafficking operation
00:03:35
run by a drug cartel
00:03:36
who control the routes
00:03:37
and are the law
00:03:38
in this part of the Colombian
00:03:40
border near Panama.
00:03:42
You pay to get here,
00:03:44
you pay two overnights here,
00:03:45
you pay to walk on.
00:03:47
There are just over 800 people
00:03:49
in this camp
00:03:50
in a Candy Sacco
00:03:51
from Haiti, Venezuela, Ecuador,
00:03:54
even China and India.
00:03:58
The pandemic turned the tough
00:04:00
into the unlivable
00:04:01
for Manuel and his wife,
00:04:02
Tamara in Venezuela.
00:04:04
We've changed
00:04:04
people's names for their safety.
00:04:06
Now, for most of
00:04:09
all of it to heal
00:04:11
like the water going into the houses.
00:04:13
And then when you come
00:04:14
here, it like them.
00:04:16
But I don't know how to motivate
00:04:19
you I,
00:04:22
I mean,
00:04:23
I'm on enemy.
00:04:24
No, no, no. I'm okay.
00:04:26
They all know that.
00:04:26
It's almost all I know.
00:04:27
You know,
00:04:32
at dawn,
00:04:33
the first thing that strikes you
00:04:34
is how few of them seem to grasp
00:04:36
what's coming.
00:04:37
Gently packing crackers
00:04:39
and tying sneakers
00:04:40
by waving a Kleenex at a storm.
00:04:43
The second thing that strikes you
00:04:45
is how organized the cartel
00:04:47
wanted to seem
00:04:48
more prepared around the table.
00:04:52
People are fed up now
00:04:54
after a wave of air
00:04:57
crash I got my brother.
00:05:02
They only walk when they're told
00:05:03
to to hear the stories here and many.
00:05:06
But there is only one goal.
00:05:08
America.
00:05:10
And the dream is just that.
00:05:12
A reverie of hope,
00:05:14
of conviction
00:05:15
that they will be the ones to make it
00:05:17
over.
00:05:17
Danger, disease,
00:05:18
dehydration, deportation.
00:05:21
About this number.
00:05:22
Every day, every year, almost doubling
00:05:27
the Darian Gap is the only land corridor
00:05:29
from South America
00:05:31
where entry is easier to it's north
00:05:32
where it's not.
00:05:34
There are no roads.
00:05:35
Only 66 miles of treacherous jungle
00:05:38
from Colombia to Panama
00:05:39
and onwards, north 3000 miles to the U.S.
00:05:42
border.
00:05:44
We walked the entire route
00:05:46
of the Darian Gap
00:05:47
over five days in February
00:05:48
to document
00:05:49
the suffering endured by people
00:05:51
milked for cash
00:05:52
by cartels, unwanted by any country.
00:05:55
One startling
00:05:57
is the sheer number of children
00:05:59
on this track as it begins on a route.
00:06:02
Sometimes adults don't even survive
00:06:09
We heard John
00:06:10
Pierce, son lover,
00:06:11
coughing all last night.
00:06:14
No by now, single
00:06:20
but still they set out.
00:06:22
Whatever is ahead.
00:06:23
Haiti, its heat, hunger
00:06:25
and the hellish chaos
00:06:26
is at least at their backs.
00:06:30
There are the older two.
00:06:32
58 year
00:06:32
old Maria, a teacher from Venezuela
00:06:35
whose monthly
00:06:35
salary of $16 can't feed anyone.
00:06:39
So she and her daughter Landry
00:06:41
are headed to Houston,
00:06:42
hopefully to relatives
00:06:45
We've only been going a matter of hours
00:06:47
and it just seems
00:06:49
an endless series of river crossings.
00:06:52
And
00:06:53
the conditions are just close and water.
00:06:56
I'm pretty exhausted
00:07:01
and so get up with Manuel and Tamara,
00:07:04
like many here,
00:07:04
try to keep the kids going with treats.
00:07:07
And then there are those whose jungle
00:07:09
it is the wildlife.
00:07:11
One bite from this snake
00:07:13
and you may never leave.
00:07:16
The walk is organized
00:07:17
as that makes more money.
00:07:19
In fact,
00:07:19
the cartel gave us permission to be here,
00:07:22
as if to parade that.
00:07:24
These discarded color-coded armbands show
00:07:26
which day and route people have paid for
00:07:30
the football shirts.
00:07:31
Reporters
00:07:33
each numbered
00:07:34
charging to carry bags,
00:07:36
even children uphill.
00:07:37
Every time you line up
00:07:39
can say those can't get you.
00:07:42
But it doesn't always work out.
00:07:48
Wilson is separated from his parents
00:07:52
Their porter raced off ahead
00:07:55
on their
00:07:57
long visit as he put so much
00:08:00
we lose it on their vehicle
00:08:03
to get home to his own
00:08:06
son.
00:08:08
Yeah. Yeah.
00:08:09
We usually Olympic hero
00:08:14
now.
00:08:16
I
00:08:18
am. I am.
00:08:19
I have me.
00:08:20
I guess if he's in Miami, I'll try
00:08:25
we'll see that.
00:08:26
That can be seen.
00:08:27
For who?
00:08:29
Oh, cascade through the air.
00:08:33
We saw her take home.
00:08:36
Wow. Wow. I got caught.
00:08:38
Killed quite like many one
00:08:41
when a girl with
00:08:45
a
00:08:46
and nothing else
00:08:51
nearly
00:08:51
a thousand unaccompanied
00:08:52
children were found
00:08:54
on the route last year.
00:08:55
The UN have said again
00:08:56
and I will soon start on our way out
00:08:58
Rebecca ended by
00:09:01
thick and more just not yet.
00:09:02
And those are my hubby.
00:09:05
And I can tell you, I ever
00:09:15
Lewin's cough is worse.
00:09:17
He is now struggling to breathe at all
00:09:21
his fever peeking
00:09:22
under the canopy
00:09:26
the first wave of exhaustion stumbles
00:09:28
through the trees into this cold layer.
00:09:32
The first camp for the first night
00:09:34
under the canopy
00:09:38
00.
00:09:45
Worried about
00:09:47
I but
00:09:48
they are still chain
00:09:49
sawing their way into the forest here.
00:09:52
Cheap tents on freshly fallen trees,
00:09:55
chilled gator rates for $4.
00:09:58
Nothing stops the money here
00:10:00
tearing through nature and its way.
00:10:03
The people are coming faster
00:10:04
than they can make space for them
00:10:07
to pay for
00:10:11
everyone
00:10:21
don't report.
00:10:22
The real problem is not that
00:10:25
they will become the
00:10:28
most likely
00:10:30
people.
00:10:31
I have heard all
00:10:34
but I'll go to
00:10:37
the second dawn
00:10:38
and the scale of the task
00:10:40
ahead, the size of the crowd.
00:10:41
They are in these cramped spaces
00:10:43
becomes clear
00:10:45
lines on the slopes will continue,
00:10:48
but I'll be going persona
00:10:49
as well to name your work.
00:10:51
Yet I was in a way I forget I'm
00:10:52
here and there's
00:10:55
no way that you feel Nola is with you.
00:10:57
I don't want you to
00:11:01
oh, because it's all over the map
00:11:04
on the
00:11:09
it's organized, isn't it?
00:11:10
But this is probably where
00:11:11
a lot of that stops.
00:11:13
You start heading in to Panama.
00:11:15
We are now
00:11:17
not going to have
00:11:19
one more,
00:11:22
but
00:11:24
you can't keep
00:11:34
that fellow
00:11:38
five.
00:11:40
Guys, let's go
00:11:43
I it.
00:11:44
So let me put it
00:11:51
but I make good
00:11:54
of course we have film
00:12:01
the mist clings to the trees
00:12:03
Making the climb feels steeper still
00:12:08
looking
00:12:09
for my final partner again we check
00:12:14
some children embrace it all
00:12:15
bounding upwards playfully
00:12:21
for a moment even in their socks
00:12:26
when the mud starts climbing shoes
00:12:29
that follow
00:12:31
up on a lot of pornography
00:12:34
through Nancy
00:12:38
a manual.
00:12:39
Oh,
00:12:56
my
00:12:59
lover is looking worse still.
00:13:02
His father too exhausted.
00:13:03
It seems to intervene
00:13:05
and already at this point,
00:13:06
really out of choices.
00:13:08
But to go forwards
00:13:10
and go
00:13:17
to the air
00:13:25
others have come here with little
00:13:26
but their will to move
00:13:28
propelled forward
00:13:29
by knowing what is behind them,
00:13:32
you have to calibrate it
00:13:40
to big
00:13:43
the fear
00:13:56
I think
00:14:00
we are you know, you picked up Oklahoma.
00:14:03
It's a very fast break
00:14:07
going to lay down the of the guy
00:14:10
who gets a little weak
00:14:14
or hard on him which I.
00:14:16
Matthew.
00:14:16
Oh, yeah.
00:14:18
Yeah. Oh, that's very dangerous. Yep.
00:14:20
I know he yes.
00:14:22
Look at what happened
00:14:23
that it's hard to live when, um.
00:14:28
I love violence.
00:14:30
I said I'm with two people.
00:14:32
I'm going to kill
00:14:39
your
00:14:50
one of us.
00:14:52
This is the dry season,
00:14:54
but still, at times, it feels impossible
00:14:59
I would
00:15:03
go, oh, I'm not here.
00:15:09
And then the sky clears.
00:15:11
This is the border at the summit,
00:15:13
but from here on, they're on their own.