Venezuelans in reverse migration face new perils on Pacific route back to South America
Tight U.S. asylum policies drive migrants to a cheaper but riskier Pacific crossing from Panama to Colombia, UN officials say.
Venezuelan migrants who once sought asylum in the United States are increasingly trying to return home, a reverse migration spurred by a tightened immigration policy. Since the crackdown began, more than 14,000 have headed back to South America, according to figures from Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica.
They are taking a cheaper, albeit riskier, route: cargo boats that shuttle between Panama City and Colombia’s jungle-fringed Pacific coast, followed by precarious motor boats along the coast. The route costs about $280 per person, roughly half the price of the more frequented Caribbean crossing.
On the Pacific crossing, boats often carry 15 to 30 people. In June, a vessel carrying 38 migrants capsized at sea, injuring a pregnant woman, a child and a person with a disability who lost their wheelchair. “People arrive with very few resources, some with only the clothes on their backs,” said Nacor Rivera, a 56-year-old boat driver who has ferried migrants along the coast. “Many can’t pay for the boat ride, so I’ve had to help a lot of them, carrying them for free.”
Once they reach Colombia, migrants land in areas where armed groups prey on travelers, with few shelters and limited medical care. A United Nations report released earlier this month describes migrants arriving with dehydration, burns, malnutrition and mental health issues, and warns that those who lack money can be stranded in inhumane conditions.
“We urge authorities to care for people in reverse migration to stop them from falling into criminal and trafficking networks of illegal armed groups, and turn them into victims of even greater violence,” said Scott Campbell, a UN human rights officer in Colombia, in a statement.
Some migrants, such as Jesús Aguilar, were stuck in a rural Panamanian town near the Darien Gap for two months before scraping together money to pay for a boat ride to Colombia after a local offered work cleaning their farm.
Other migrants, including Mariela Gómez, previously spent months in Panama City saving for a chance to reach the United States, but when they fell short they opted for the cheaper Pacific route. Gómez, a 36-year-old Venezuelan mother, fled Venezuela in 2017 amid economic collapse and repression and later crossed the Darien Gap to reach the United States, only to be intercepted and dropped in southern Mexico. After failing to secure work in southern Mexico and facing threats from organized crime, she decided to return across the border toward Colombia and, eventually, toward Venezuela.
Back in Venezuela, Gómez says staying would be dangerous if Maduro remains in power, and she may have to leave again, perhaps to Chile. “I would have to leave my country again, maybe go to Chile,” she said. “We’re just hoping God protects us.”
Now, as she returns to Venezuela, she wonders what she will find if the government’s crackdown continues. She says she and others are simply trying to reach Colombia and secure what they can before deciding their next move.
The United Nations and other aid groups warn that reverse migration will require protection and help to prevent migrants from falling into trafficking networks or becoming trapped in vulnerable situations. While the route offers a shorter price tag, officials emphasize that the foremost need is to safeguard migrants’ health and dignity as they navigate a perilous journey across multiple borders.