U.S.-bound migrants crowd Colombia's Caribbean coast

Migrants, many from Haiti and Venezuela, are stuck in the northern Colombian beach town of Necocli, awaiting their turn on limited boat transport toward the jungles of the Darien Gap in Panama, where smugglers guide groups through the treacherous region.

Migrants desperate to continue on their journey embark on illegal, overcrowded boats, increasing the possibility of having an accident.

The journey migrants have to endure to get to Mexico, or the U.S. is dangerous.

As they leave Colombian coasts, they arrive at the Darién Gap, a jungle region connecting Colombia and Panama, where they have to walk several kilometres guided by traffickers.

"If the situation in the Darien [a jungle region in Panama] is dangerous, it is not possible to walk faster. I know that with patience, I will arrive without any problems," Haitian migrant Wilson Michel told Reuters.

Thousands of migrants travel through Necocli each year, but border closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic have increased the number of migrants, overloading the public and social services in town.