To reach freedom, migrants risk Panama’s Darién Gap, the most dangerous jungle in the world

Desperate migrants from across the globe are increasingly braving Panama’s Darién Gap – considered the most dangerous jungle in the world. Most come from the Caribbean, Africa and Asia, starting in South America and traveling north, funneling through the gap in hopes of eventually reaching the United States by land.

Many die en route, and those who survive describe a nightmarish journey of robbery and assault, starvation, exposure, snake bites and drowning.