Situation of migrants in Necoclí has ​​improved, but it is still a "tragedy"

Migrants in Necoclí ask for humanitarian corridor 3:17

(CNN Spanish) -

In Necoclí, a municipality in the northwest of Colombia on the Panamanian border, thousands and thousands of immigrants of various nationalities wait to cross the border to reach Panama, and continue their way to the north of the continent.

The hope of many is to reach the United States.

Thousands of travelers came to this remote Colombian municipality from Haiti, Venezuela, Chile, Brazil, and even from Africa - with countries like Congo, Senegal, and New Guinea - as Necoclí mayor Jorge Tobón Castro told CNN.

The situation was novel, said Tobón Castro, because "before the migration was mostly Cuban, Brazilian, Chilean. But this migration is new."

In recent days, Necoclí - which has about 48,679,000 inhabitants - has seen up to 16,000 immigrants imprisoned for lack of transportation.

All of them seek to travel to the north of the continent.

Its ultimate goal is "North America," said the mayor.

• Thousands of immigrants bound for the United States were stranded in Necoclí, Colombia

Migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela and several African countries enter to board a boat to leave Necoclí, Colombia, on July 30, 2021. Thousands of them remained stranded there due to lack of transportation.

(Credit: JOAQUIN SARMIENTO / AFP via Getty Images)

The national government estimates that about 30,000 immigrants pass through Necoclí every year, but since the beginning of August 25,000 have passed through this municipality, Reuters cited.

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The Vice President and Foreign Minister of Colombia, Martha Lucía Ramírez, described the situation of the migrants as a "humanitarian tragedy."

According to her, Panama and Colombia are working together to resolve the situation and find a "definitive solution to this humanitarian tragedy that we have been seeing for many years, from migrants who come from the south to the north, and where Panama and Colombia are countries. of transit, we are not countries of origin, we are not countries of destination, but without a doubt, this transit is also generating very difficult social consequences in our countries. "

Necoclí, the town where thousands of migrants have arrived 3:08

Arrival in Necoclí

Many arrive from the south of the continent and arrive in Colombia through Ecuador, said Tobón Castro.

They go through trails and continue to the north of the country where they can move.

"Sometimes they have to walk, but they come to Necoclí from the Gulf of Urabá because it is the closest step to the coast of Panama," the local mayor told CNN.

"They arrive at Necoclí and from there they go to the Darien plug and from there to Panama."

Before them is the Gulf of Urabá, a stretch of the Caribbean Sea that interrupts their long journey north to the United States.

Once they cross, if they cross, they face a 60-kilometer trek through the Darien Gap jungle to reach Panama and eventually Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

If they survive that far, they will join the massive flows of desperate people walking north through Central America, all on their way to the US-Mexico border.

Although the authorities accompany travelers to prevent them from being affected by criminals, to prevent travelers "from being affected by criminals, due to abuse in the collection of prices along with other types of crimes", according to Gustavo Franco, Commander of Region 6 of the Colombian Police, the Colombian Foreign Minister denounced an "infamous business of organized crime networks."

According to her, there are "organized crime networks that are trafficking in people, who are profiting from this need that many people have to find a place of shelter, a place that gives them stability, a place where they can raise their children."

That is why Ramírez said that they contacted Ameripol and Interpol and other judicial intelligence agencies to stop this scourge.

A Colombian policeman passes by the side of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela and several African countries seeking to leave Necoclí, Antioquia, in northwestern Colombia, on July 29, 2021. Many were stranded for several days due to lack of transportation.

They seek to reach the United States.

(Credit: JOAQUIN SARMIENTO / AFP via Getty Images)

Improve the situation

The mayor of Necoclí said that in recent days the situation has improved, since before the private yacht companies that transport between 80 and 90 passengers did not provide the service for fear that immigrants would have irregular status.

"But since Migración Colombia managed to organize the issue, they are already providing the service without any problem," said Tobón.

"Everyone is presenting their passport. They present it to Migración Colombia, they enter them on a form to have a control and look at the background."

Then they can move on to their next destination.

"Until now, the issue of undocumented immigrants has not been heard," Tobón Castro told CNN.

Thousands of migrants arrive in Necoclí, a town in Colombia 2:35

According to the authorities, every day, 700, 800 to 1,000 immigrants leave the municipality in boats.

"Since Migración Colombia managed to organize the issue, they are already providing the service without any problem," said the mayor.

Immigrants are charged for round-trip transportation, since the boat is full, but it is returned empty, said Tobón Castro.

The ticket costs US $ 50.

"We try to move eight or nine hundred migrants a day, but it is difficult. Normally it is three or four hundred people, maybe five hundred, but now it is nine hundred people day after day after day. I have never seen anything like this before," says Edward Villarreal, who works as a translator for the ferry company Caribe SAS.

For now, one of the biggest concerns for Necoclí is controlling the pandemic, which has been effective so far, the mayor said.

And also that with the arrival of so many people, tourism - one of the main businesses in the municipality - and the collapse of public services is discouraged.

"The supply of drinking water has been affected because almost 16,000 migrants who were dammed there was a great impact on this issue," said Mayor Tobón Castro.

"And facing the tourist issue, because the hotels are totally empty because people no longer want to go to Necoclí because the stigma remained. And we have to start doing work to recover that tourist flow."

- With information from Stefano Pozzebón from CNN and Melissa Velásquez from CNN en Español. 

Immigrants