International

Flood of forlorn Venezuelans brave jungle crossing in Panama

Photo: Luis Acosta / AFP

| 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.

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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“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.

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

Former Trump allies call for removal, cite 25th Amendment amid Iran threats

Former allies of U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday called for his removal from office, arguing he is unfit to continue in the role following recent threats to “wipe out an entire civilization,” made just hours before the deadline of his ultimatum to Iran.

One of the most prominent voices was former Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who invoked the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as a mechanism to remove the president from power.

“25th Amendment! Not a single bomb has fallen on the U.S. We cannot annihilate an entire civilization. This is evil and insanity,” Greene wrote on social media platform X.

Greene, once a leading figure within Trump’s political movement during his first term, broke with the president last November over disagreements on foreign policy and his handling of controversial cases.

Another former supporter, controversial commentator Alex Jones, also raised the possibility of applying the constitutional provision during his show, in a conversation with attorney Robert Barnes.

Barnes explained that invoking the 25th Amendment requires the support of two-thirds of Congress, making it a more complex process than impeachment.

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Section 4 of the amendment, ratified in 1967, establishes that the vice president, together with a majority of the cabinet, can declare the president unable to perform the duties of the office, a decision that must then be confirmed by both chambers of Congress.

The statements come amid rising international tensions and increasing domestic political pressure on the president.

International

Trump pauses strikes on Iran, extends ultimatum by two weeks

The president of the United States, Donald Trump, announced a temporary suspension of attacks against Iran for a period of two weeks, extending the ultimatum he had imposed on Tehran just hours before its deadline.

According to the president, the measure is conditional on Iran allowing the “full, immediate, and secure” reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump stated that the decision would involve a reciprocal ceasefire between both parties.

The announcement was made through a message on his social media platform, where he emphasized that the pause in military actions is intended to create space for de-escalation in the region.

He also noted that the decision followed a conversation with the prime minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, who requested a two-week extension of the ultimatum.

The move comes amid heightened global tensions, marked by escalating threats and concerns over the potential impact of the conflict on key international energy trade routes.

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International

WHO worker killed as Israeli forces fire on Gaza medical convoy

An employee of the World Health Organization (WHO) was killed on Monday in Gaza Strip after Israeli forces opened fire on a medical convoy transporting patients for evacuation, according to witnesses and official accounts.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the vehicle approached troops in a “threatening manner,” alleging that the driver accelerated toward soldiers despite warning shots. “The troops fired warning shots. The vehicle continued advancing, and additional fire was directed at it,” the military said in a statement.

The army also claimed the vehicle lacked clear markings and was therefore treated as a potential threat.

However, survivors disputed that account. Raed Aslan, a passenger in the convoy, told reporters in Khan Younis that the vehicles were clearly marked with WHO insignia. “The vehicle was clearly identified as belonging to the WHO,” he said, adding that an Israeli tank blocked the road and fired at the driver despite the route being empty.

The convoy was transporting patients to the Rafah crossing, the only exit point available for medical evacuations abroad, as Israel does not permit transfers to Jerusalem or the West Bank.

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The incident adds to a series of controversial cases involving Israeli military actions against humanitarian convoys. In April 2024, seven workers from World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah. The military initially cited a “misidentification,” despite the vehicles being clearly marked.

Similarly, in March 2025, 15 paramedics, rescuers, and a UN worker were killed near Rafah. Israeli authorities first claimed emergency lights were off, but video evidence later contradicted that assertion.

A subsequent investigation by organizations including Forensic Architecture found that Israeli forces fired hundreds of rounds at the convoy, and that the vehicles were later destroyed and buried along with the bodies before being recovered days later.

The latest incident is likely to intensify scrutiny over the conduct of military operations in Gaza, particularly regarding the safety of humanitarian personnel and medical evacuations.