International
Flood of forlorn Venezuelans brave jungle crossing in Panama
| By AFP | Juan José Rodriguez and Luis Acosta |
Wading through knee-deep mud, some limping, hundreds of Venezuelan migrants battle against fatigue with their eye on the prize: hope for a new life in the United States.
With sore feet, injuries and dented spirits several days into their ordeal — still far from halfway — they trudge in single file through the infamous Darien Jungle linking Colombia to Panama.
With a long way still ahead through Central America and Mexico, the group of men, women and children, some babies, already has many horrors to recount.
And it may all have been in vain.
Last week, the United States announced that Venezuelans arriving by land without travel documents will be returned to Mexico.
For Jesus Arias, 45, sometimes one has to “risk one’s life to have a future.”
“But honestly, I would not advise anyone to come through the jungle. It is very hard,” he told AFP as he and others arrived at an Indigenous settlement in Panama, Canaan Membrillo — one of several border control points in the 575,000-hectare (1,420,900-acre) jungle.
Arias arrived at Canaan Membrillo in a T-shirt and shorts, carried by other men in the group after injuring his knee.
‘We’re going anyway’
He undertook the journey knowing it would be tough because “there is no future in Venezuela. Every day it gets worse.”
He may have no choice but to go back to the crisis-hit country, which is wracked by violence, insecurity and a lack of essential services. The UN Refugee Agency says 6.8 million refugees and migrants have left Venezuela since 2014.
Under the US decree, only 24,000 Venezuelans who apply under a humanitarian program will be granted entry.
“We’re going anyway,” said Arias. “Even if we are stopped, at some point we will enter.”
The number of Venezuelans making the Darien crossing reached a record high in 2022 — some 133,000 between January and mid-October, according to authorities in Panama.
For the whole of last year, the figure was 2,800.
Venezuelan Nelida Pantoja, 46, saw “many dead, many mountains, many rivers that carried off many people… It was horrible,” she told AFP at Canaan Membrillo.
But like most of her fellow migrants, she vowed to “keep trying” until she gets into the United States.
Darwin Vidal, 33, said he was struggling to garner the strength for what lay ahead: battling not only rough terrain but also being at the mercy of poisonous snakes and other wild animals, as well as criminal groups.
“I got lost for three days in the jungle with my family. With my children, we were going too slowly. We couldn’t keep up with the group, we fell behind, and got lost” for a scary while, he said.
Rusbelis Serrano, 18, said she thought the worst was over.
“My mom, my dad, my brothers are waiting for me” in the United States, Serrano told AFP.
“I don’t have much left. I have to keep trying.”
The authorities in Panama say at least 100 people have died crossing the Darien since 2018, about half of them in 2021 — the deadliest year so far.
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TOPSHOT - Venezuelan migrants arrive at Canaan Membrillo village, the first border control of the Darien Province in Panama, on October 13, 2022. - The clandestine journey through the Darien Gap usually lasts five or six days at the mercy of all kinds of bad weather: snakes, swamps and drug traffickers who use these routes to take cocaine to Central America. (Photo by Luis ACOSTA / AFP) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY JUAN JOSE RODRIGUEZ
International
German president says trust in U.S. leadership is ‘lost’ amid global tensions
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Tuesday that trust between the United States and its Western allies has been “lost,” warning that the damage could persist beyond the presidency of Donald Trump.
“The rupture is very deep, and the loss of trust in U.S. great power policy is significant—not only among its allies, but also, as I observe, globally,” Steinmeier said during a speech in Berlin marking the 75th anniversary of Germany’s Foreign Ministry.
Referring to the future of transatlantic relations, he stated that “there is no return to the situation before January 20, 2025,” the date marking the start of Trump’s second term in the White House.
“Even a future U.S. administration will no longer be able to resume the role of a benevolent hegemon guaranteeing a liberal international order,” added Steinmeier, who previously served as Germany’s foreign minister.
He also criticized the war against Iran, describing it as “contrary to international law” and calling it “a political mistake with serious consequences.”
“This war is avoidable and unnecessary,” he said.
Although the German presidency is largely ceremonial, Steinmeier’s remarks reflect a broader concern within Germany, aligning with the government’s cautious stance while going further in tone.
International
Trump claims talks with Iran as G7 meets to address global tensions
U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States has held talks with Iran—a claim denied by Tehran—and has temporarily paused his threat to target the country’s electrical infrastructure.
In his first overseas trip since the United States and Israel launched their offensive on February 28, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to address key global issues, including the situation in the Middle East, according to State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott.
Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven will meet in Cernay-la-Ville, close to Versailles, on the outskirts of Paris.
During the meeting, Rubio will hold discussions with his counterparts on “the war between Russia and Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, and threats to global peace and stability,” Pigott said.
France currently holds the presidency of the G7, whose members also include the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Although all G7 nations are close allies of the United States, none has offered explicit support for Washington’s military actions against Iran, a stance that has reportedly frustrated Trump.
Last Saturday, G7 foreign ministers called for an “immediate and unconditional end” to Iranian attacks against U.S. allies in the Middle East.
International
Pentagon to deploy 3,000 troops to Persian Gulf as Middle East tensions escalate
The Pentagon is planning to deploy nearly 3,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Persian Gulf, according to two senior officials cited Tuesday by Spanish newspaper El País.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah warned it would confront any attempt at occupation following Israel’s announcement that its military will take control of southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, located about 30 kilometers from the border.
In recent hours, the Israel Defense Forces carried out airstrikes on Beirut, while Iran and Hezbollah responded with attacks on Israel, leaving at least six people with minor injuries in Tel Aviv.
The escalation comes as global markets react to renewed instability. The price of oil rose again above $100 per barrel after a brief decline the previous day, following an announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump of a five-day truce on attacks targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure.
Despite the announcement, Iranian authorities reported that two projectiles struck a gas pipeline in Khorramshahr and administrative buildings at a gas facility in Isfahan early Tuesday.
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