Caitlin Dickerson:

The Darién Gap is this narrow strip of land that stretches from northern Colombia to southern Panama. It is the only route that leads north from South America. It is very, very densely vegetated. It is mountainous. And the list of dangers that migrants who attempt this crossing face is very long. It ranges from flash floods, which are quite frequent because it rains every day, to torrential rain.

People suffer heart attacks due to overexertion in the terrain. There are deadly snakes. There are wild cats. And in addition to all the natural dangers, there are also bandits who attack migrants. Migrants are very often robbed and unfortunately also often experience sexual assault on this journey.

So it was grueling. I mean, there’s no other way to put it. It was certainly the hardest thing I’ve ever done physically. I think that’s one of the things that has stuck with me to this day, and just the desperation. People go into the Darién Gap and it’s almost impossible to be fully prepared.

You don’t know what’s coming. And so you might run out of water. You might run out of food, even if you’re healthy and have prepared as best you can. It’s an incredibly dangerous thing to do.