Venezuelans describe dangers and desperation amid U.S. asylum changes

Mariantonela Orellana spent nine days in the dangerous Darien Gap jungle in the Colombia-Panama border, and she described her nightmarish ordeal.

She crossed four rivers and nearly drowned; had a nervous breakdown, she said, because for hours she couldn't find one of her children; saw corpses of other migrants rotting on the trails; and as if that weren't enough, had to scare away some jaguars that began to stalk their makeshift camp in the thick jungle.

"You have to mentally prepare yourself and really want to forge ahead, because it’s very difficult to continue," said Orellana, 35, who left the economic and political turmoil of her home country, Venezuela, in 2019. She first lived in Ecuador before embarking north toward the U.S.

"I'm here because of my daughters who told me, 'Mom, you have to continue.' That was what motivated me, but we went through hell, and we still haven’t arrived."

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Central American Migrants Upset US Immigration Program Excludes Them
In early January the United States put in place a new humanitarian parole process which allows some Cuban, Haitian and Nicaraguan migrants to live and work temporarily in the U.S. and expands the number of Venezuelans eligible. Some Central American migrants argue they should also qualify for the same humanitarian relief. Victor Hugo Castillo reports from Reynosa, Mexico.
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