U.S. Charges Smugglers in Drowning Deaths off the Coast of Central America

FAIR Take | December 2024
The U.S. Department of Justice recently charged two alleged human smugglers following the deaths of migrants attempting to bypass the Darién Gap by boat. The government alleges that the two men, Hernando Manuel de la Cruz Rivera Orjuela and Luis Enrique Linero, were part of a smuggling network known as “La Agencia” (the agency) that was offering migrants passage to the U.S. border. The original incident occurred in October 2023, when a boat full of illegal aliens was lost at sea between Colombia and Nicaragua. The deaths of these migrants, including some children, are yet another tragic episode in our ongoing border crisis.
The Darién Gap, the narrow isthmus that straddles the border between Panama and Colombia, plays a significant role in this tragic case. FAIR has detailed how the open borders policies of the Biden-Harris administration transformed the once pristine tract of jungle into a migrant superhighway. Over one million migrants have poured through the Darién Gap over the past four years, creating environmental damage, undermining the livelihood of indigenous people, and exposing migrants to exploitation and harm. By 2023, the number of migrants had peaked, followed by a noticeable decline. This was spurred by Panamanian authorities who were pressured by the U.S. to secure the route.
Panama has conducted more enforcement measures, leading ruthless smugglers to find other routes to continue their operations. One alternative offered by La Agencia, was to bypass the Darién Gap and take a boat to Nicaragua. Once in Nicaragua, a country ruled by anti-American dictator and former Sandinista rebel Daniel Ortega, migrants could then take advantage of Nicaragua’s permissive attitude toward transit passengers and move north toward the U.S. border. However, getting to Nicaragua by water placed migrants at risk of drowning, particularly given that La Agencia deliberately chose routes that avoided patrols by authorities. This meant assistance could not be provided if and when the boat encountered trouble.
The deaths of these migrants are yet another tragic episode in the Biden-Harris border crisis. Through its open-borders policies, the administration made it clear that anyone from anywhere would be released into the U.S. and could stay if they just reached the southern border. This invitation unleashed a tidal wave of over 10 million illegal aliens at America’s borders over the last four years. Thus, as they traveled to the U.S. through dangerous migration routes, it was inevitable that many would be exploited, harmed, or even killed along the way. The risks ranged from drowning in seas or rivers, succumbing to illness and dehydration, being hurt or killed in vehicle accidents, suffocating to death when locked in overheated trucks, or even being shot. The United Nations estimates that over 2,700 migrants died in the Americas between 2022 and 2023, and the bulk of these deaths were of migrants heading along routes to the U.S. border. The United Nations concedes that even these numbers are likely to be an underestimate. In all likelihood, the number of victims will never be known.
Sadly, these tragic deaths are often used as grounds for calling for even more open borders. On the United Nations “International Migrants Day” on December 18, countries were encouraged to adopt the recommendations of the “Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.” The compact essentially calls on countries to open their borders to save lives. This is a false choice. Countries should, and have the right to, secure their borders and protect migrants from exploitation.
The lives lost – at sea or along the U.S. border — would have been prevented if they had not been enticed to leave and seek entry and amnesty in the U.S. in the first place.
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