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--:-- John Bickley: Welcome to Morning Wire, I'm John Bickley, editor-in-chief of The Daily Wire, and I'm here with Georgia Howe.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Hi, John. It's November 19th, and we're bringing you a special Sunday edition of Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: Today, we're talking about the Darien Gap, a narrow land bridge that connects South America to Central America. It's a treacherous journey for immigrants trying to reach the United States. Joining us is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce. Tim, thanks for being here.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Thanks, John.
--:-- John Bickley: For those who aren't familiar, can you tell us what the Darien Gap is?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Sure. The Darien Gap is an undeveloped stretch of land that connects Colombia and South America to Panama and Central America. It's about 100 miles wide, packed with forests, rivers, and some of the highest mountains in Panama. The only paths through it are trails, no highways, no bridges, no cell phone towers – nothing.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That sounds incredibly isolated. How many people are crossing the gap each year?
--:-- Tim Pierce: According to the Panama government's data, immigration across the Darien Gap exploded in 2021, with an estimated 130,000 immigrants crossing that year. The decade before, immigration averaged less than 11 people per year. So, we're talking a tenfold increase.
--:-- John Bickley: That's staggering. Can you tell us more about the route through the gap? How do immigrants actually get through?
--:-- Tim Pierce: It's treacherous. To learn more, Morning Wire spoke with a journalist who has made the trip and experienced it firsthand. Muckracker founder Anthony Rubin and his brother spent about three weeks traveling through Ecuador and Colombia and then into the Gap and Panama.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What's the most popular route that immigrants take?
--:-- Tim Pierce: The most popular routes begin in the Colombian port town of Nacocle, where migrants find a boat and sail to either Aconde or Capragana on the Colombian side of the Darien Gap. From there, immigrants have about a five-day hike through the Gap into Panama.
--:-- John Bickley: That sounds incredibly challenging. Can you tell us more about the conditions in the Gap?
--:-- Tim Pierce: The environment is a threat, with rough ground and marshes. There's also disease, and medical care is scarce unless you bring first aid supplies with you. And you can't always count on others being willing to share.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That must be terrifying. What's the most dangerous aspect of the trip?
--:-- Tim Pierce: The people. Many of whom are destitute and desperate, and some are hardened criminals. Some could even have terror connections. In fiscal year 2023, authorities on the southern border arrested or processed 227 people on the FBI's terror watch list.
--:-- John Bickley: That's alarming. Can you tell us more about the journalist who made the trek and experienced it firsthand?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Morning Wire spoke with Muckracker founder Anthony Rubin, who took a third route, which took him in a boat from Aconde a little further up the coast before he set foot in Panama. He explained that he took the route that the more wealthy illegal aliens are using, which is a route where basically you get smuggled by boat from Colombia already into Panamanian territory.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That sounds like a more expensive option. What's the reason for that?
--:-- Tim Pierce: It's a shorter route, and it's a bit safer. But you have to pay a boat smuggler to take you into Panamanian territory in the middle of the night.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a lot of money. Can you tell us more about the conditions in the campsites?
--:-- Tim Pierce: There are campsites, but they're in really poor condition. Nobody stays for long, so people don't bother cleaning up after themselves. Rubin described one of the camps he stayed at as basically a landfill slum in the middle of the jungle.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's heartbreaking. What's the role of Panama's government in all of this?
--:-- Tim Pierce: According to Rubin, the answer from officials in Panama City has been to expedite the migrants' trip through the country as much as possible. They just greenlight them to get transported across the country into Costa Rica.
--:-- John Bickley: That's surprising. Thanks, Tim, for joining us and giving us a chance to hear from Anthony Rubin.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Great to be on.
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