In 2024, more than half a million people risked their lives to cross the Darién Gap, a treacherous 100-kilometre stretch of jungle between Colombia and Panama. It is the only route that connects South and Central America, a corridor for migrants destined for the United States and Canada. A courageous and determined team of Canadian journalists from the CTV program W5 took the trip themselves, exposing the harrowing realities faced by migrants who are desperate to seek a better life.

There is no road through the Darién Gap. It is known for its difficult terrain and extreme environment, including mountains, dense rainforests, and vast marshlands. The safest way to cross is by boat, however most migrants are forced to travel on foot, which is both dangerous and physically strenuous. Natural dangers include threatening wildlife, tropical diseases, heavy rains, and flash floods. Professional medical care is non-existent, multiplying the risk that even a minor injury could become fatal.

Travelers also face the threat of violence. The Darién Gap is remote and largely undeveloped, with no law enforcement: a perfect breeding ground for criminal activity.

Through investigative work, CTV secured an exclusive on-camera interview with the leader of the Gulf Clan, Colombia’s largest drug cartel. For the first time, he admitted the cartel had expanded its operations into the migrant trade, profiting from their desperation by charging for passage. Those who can’t afford the fee are forced to carry drugs.

The team exposed an often-overlooked nexus between organized crime and migration. Beyond the cartel’s involvement, they documented the escalating dangers the migrants faced—including violent armed robberies, assaults, and sexual violence—even after they left Colombia, and crossed to the Panamanian side of the Darién Gap.

Despite the countless dangers, the migrants, fleeing violence, poverty or persecution in Venezuela, Ecuador, and Haiti, as well as countries in the Middle East and Africa, see this journey as their only hope not just for a better life, but for survival.

At the same time in North America, political rhetoric reached new extremes, demonizing migrants and refugees, and stoking paranoia. Through their report, the W5 team gave voice to the voiceless, putting a human face on the stories of people who were desperate to escape from economic collapse, political instability, and religious persecution.

They saw a shocking scale of human suffering. After encountering numerous dead bodies along the route and witnessing the devastation caused by the journey, they made an ethical decision. In addition to their duty to observe and report what they saw, the team helped some particularly vulnerable migrants—including a pregnant mother of two and a family from Venezuela—by arranging their transportation to safety in a Panamanian migrant camp, near the end of the trek.

The story raised a new awareness of the migrant crisis by highlighting the ways that organized criminals prey upon the most vulnerable. In a follow-up story, “Narco Jungle: Death Train,” they tracked some of the same families on the continuation of their perilous journey to the United States, ensuring the conversation around these issues remained relevant long after the initial broadcast.

The team’s courageous, original reporting, and high production values informed Canadians about the complex and urgent issue of migration. They also enhanced our understanding of the devastating effects of global migration policies, in a world that is increasingly shaped by fear and division.