The Latin American Report # 335

It is interesting that three different news agencies have decided at the same time to deal with Venezuelan migration through the Darién Gap. The idea that moves the reports is that the sons of Bolívar could be starting a new migration wave, after the failed attempt of the opposition to remove Chavismo from power by electoral means. “Oh, they cheated, the worst trap in the world”, commented EFE a young Venezuelan woman already in Panamanian territory, after crossing the rugged jungle and the waters of the Tuquesa River. She and her husband had tried to settle in other South American destinations, but, back in Venezuela, they were hopeful of a potential administration with liberal flavor, without socialist condiments.

“I had to flee. I didn't want to leave Venezuela, but I had to flee because they were going to kill me”, another migrant in Panamá told AFP. “Money is not enough. You get desperate and you have to look for a better future for your children,” says to AP a former cab driver who also refers to having left the oil-producing country in frustration after the victory--in practice--of Maduro. It remains to be seen if it is a real trend that Venezuelans are migrating in greater proportions due to the electoral output. AFP reports that as of September the number of Venezuelans crossing the Darién is 33% lower than in 2023.

_Source

“For us, the same government winning again means there will be no improvement in the country,” said a Venezuelan woman traveling with her large family. The post-electoral situation does not offer much incentive to the opposition followers, while the PSUV seems well planted in the Miraflores Palace, despite not having quelled questions about its murky handling of the electoral data. “The [Maduro] regime is delegitimized [...], it is a pariah at the international level”, says opposition leader María Corina Machado in a dialogue with AFP, but it is clear that they have no real power to twist a Chavism that controls the street and the narrative.

The Venezuelan opposition has no clear strategy, headless and highly dependent on the West punishing Caracas with harsh sanctions, something that has proven to be insufficient before. Yet Washington announced yesterday that it is evaluating “[the] use of either individual sanctions or the revocation of licenses related to sectoral sanctions”. At present, the licenses granted by the Treasury Department for oil exploitation in Venezuela are not general but are issued specifically to certain foreign companies. The reds showed their muscle this Saturday in demonstrations throughout the country, while the opposition is trying new methods to avoid more arrests.

_{Migrants continue to report cases of individuals who died during the passage of the Darien Gap (source).}

And this is all for our report today. I have referenced the sources dynamically in the text, and remember you can learn how and where to follow the LATAM trail news by reading my work here. Have a nice day.