US migrant policy 'bucket of cold water' to some Venezuelans
Venezuelan Gilbert Fernández still plans to cross the dangerous Darién jungle into Panama headed over land toward the U.S. despite Washington's announcement that it will grant conditional humanitarian permits only to 24,000 Venezuelan migrants arriving by air
NECOCLI, Colombia (AP) — Venezuelan Gilbert Fernández still plans to cross the dangerous Darién jungle into Panama and head toward the United States over land, despite a U.S. announcement that it will grant conditional humanitarian permits only to 24,000 Venezuelan migrants arriving by air.
“The news hit us like a bucket of cold water,” Fernández said Thursday, a day after the announcement, which also stated that Venezuelans arriving by land at the Mexico-U.S. border would be returned to Mexico.
Fernández spoke to The Associated Press on a beach in Necoclí, a coastal town in Colombia where about 9,000 people, mostly Venezuelans, waited to board a boat to take them to the entrance of the Darién Gap connecting the South American country to Panama. From there, migrants head by land up Central America through Mexico toward the U.S.
Some on the Colombian beach said they would seek other routes into the United States or give up the voyage after hearing the news. Critics noted that the number of humanitarian visas was just a fraction of the number of Venezuelans seeking to enter the United States.
