The Office of the Attorney General of the Nation revealed in its preventive report, “Situation of the migrant population in the Darién Gap and Cúcuta”, that problems such as human trafficking, xenophobia, sexual and labor exploitation of minors, micro-trafficking and state abandonment persist. among the international migrant population known as the “Walkers”, which total at least 2.7 million people, mostly Venezuelan citizens, but also from Haiti, Cuba, and Afghanistan, among others, according to figures from Colombia Migration.
Since the beginning of 2021, the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation has been monitoring the situation through its delegate for Human Rights and regional and provincial attorneys, in order to identify international protection needs, risks to their lives and difficulties in accessing services, issue recommendations, and monitor the institutional response.
Norte de Santander, care in crisis
An average of 23,000 Venezuelans enter the department of Norte de Santander, whose border with Venezuela extends for at least 500 kilometers, daily through the three existing border bridges, according to figures reported by Migración Colombia (September 2022). Many live in Venezuela, but study and work in Colombia; others are part of the constant exodus of citizens from that country in search of a new life here or transit to other places; about 25% are in an irregular migratory situation.
During their visit, in September 2022, a few days after the governments of Colombia and Venezuela decided to reopen the borders after 7 years of closure, the team from the Attorney General’s Office found the imminent closure of the Transitory Health Care Center (CAS) located in Los patios, a municipality near Cúcuta, on the route taken by migrants on their way to the center of the country.
There, under the coordination of the Departmental Secretariat of Borders and with the support of state entities and international organizations, at least 200 walkers were being attended daily, giving priority to the elderly, pregnant and lactating women, people with disabilities and families with disabilities. children; offering them lodging for 72 hours, in which they were provided with food, psychosocial and health care, legal advice regarding their immigration status, and humanitarian transportation to continue their journey to the outskirts of the department.
The CAS had established itself as an effective solution to problems such as labor exploitation, trafficking in minors, xenophobia, sexual slavery, among others, which persist in the area, for which reason Attorney Margarita Cabello publicly denounced the situation and summoned the institutionality to keep the center running or, if this is not possible, mitigate the impact caused by its closure.
However, despite the commitments made at that time by the departmental government, the ICBF, Colombian Migration and other entities, the place is currently being definitively dismantled, the contingency plans have not been implemented either, and attention to walkers is only It occurs partially, in places managed by private individuals with the support of international cooperation.
A jungle of illegality
For the nearly 160,000 walkers who crossed the 575,000 hectares that make up the jungle known as El Tapón del Darién, the natural border between Colombia and Panama, on their way to the United States in 2022, the encounters with poisonous snakes, pumas, and alligators that live there were The least of their problems, the real threat were the illegal armed groups, whose mafias control the transit of migrants and exercise all kinds of violence against them, such as human trafficking for the purpose of sexual and labor exploitation, including child labor, begging and housework.
The Attorney General’s Office was able to establish that in the municipalities of the area (Urabá, Antioquia and Chocoano) family groups with children remain for up to 10 days, waiting to be able to continue on their way to Central and North America; without financial, health or food resources, which is why malnutrition cases have multiplied among minors.
It also heard complaints from the communities about the presence of children and adolescents involved in trafficking minors to be able to eat, as well as effects on public order due to alleged thefts, prostitution and drug addiction.
Added to this are the abuses by private river transport companies that are charging exorbitant rates to migrants for the journeys they must travel to the border and a public health situation in the municipalities due to the lack of conditions to prepare their food. , personal hygiene and provide minimal care to your health.
Once the situation in the territory was known, the Public Ministry has held meetings with different government entities in charge of migrant care (ICBF, Foreign Ministry, Ministries of Equality and Equity, Commerce, Environment and Sustainable Development, Public Force Transportation and Colombia Migration ), to warn about different situations and establish commitments aimed at resolving the crisis.
Given the magnitude of the findings in the two border regions, the Delegate Attorney for Human Rights issued 48 recommendations to 12 entities of the national, departmental and municipal order, to contribute to the solution of this problem.
In addition, it plans to carry out a new field visit in the coming months in order to verify compliance with the actions proposed by the responsible entities to face the migration crisis.