Seventy Miles In The Darien Gap

Qi Ying He, 62, cries over the death of her husband in the Darien Gap while recounting the story of their journey in their new rented home in Los Angeles after traveling from China to Latin America, and crossing the perilous jungle of the Darien Gap, a 65 mile stretch of jungle with no existing roads connecting Colombia and Panama, in California, May 4, 2024. Mr. Shao traveled from China to Colombia and across the Darien Gap over five arduous days in January 2024 with his aging parents, two sons, sister, and a relative; his father passed away in his sleep upon arriving at the end of the trail in Bajo Chiquito. The number of migrants crossing the Darien Gap in an effort to reach the United States has surpassed 500,000 in 2023 despite the risks of robbery, murder and ultimately being turned away at the border of the United States.. (Photo by Lynsey Addario, with funding by the National Geographic Society/Getty Images)