The Colombian Navy confirmed on Monday the deaths of two Venezuelan migrants, a woman and a minor, and the rescue of 30 other people who had set out by boat from San Andrés island to Nicaragua. According to the Nicaraguan army, which conducted the search operation on December 23, the deceased are Jhoney Anais Zambrano Zambrano, 31 years old, and Amira Isabela Mendoza Torealba, 4 years old. According to Nicaraguan authorities, there were 21 Venezuelans, 2 Colombians, 4 Ecuadorians and 2 Indians on the boat, which sank 5 nautical miles from Corn Island, south of the coast of the Central American country. The organizations did not report when the migrants left San Andrés.
This Monday morning, Vice Admiral Orlando Grisales, Chief of Operations Staff of the Colombian National Navy, explained on Caracol Radio that the company learned of the shipwreck on December 23rd. He said Nicaraguan authorities acted in a timely manner and managed the rescue, although some crew members were not wearing life jackets. In its press release, the Nicaraguan Army states that the search was carried out “in coordination with the owners of artisanal fishing vessels.” Grisales also assured that the boat in which the migrants were traveling “does not appear.” Nicaraguan authorities define it as “an unidentified vessel.”
Grisales highlighted the danger migrants face when they set out to sea from San Andrés in often unsafe boats. It is a route that more and more people are taking to reach Central America on their way to the United States, avoiding the difficult journey through the Darién, the jungle and mountain border between Colombia and Panama. According to the Colombian Attorney General's Office, at least 895 migrants were rescued in the waters between the island and Nicaragua between January 2022 and October 2023. The number of deaths is unknown.
With the increase in migration flows in the region, the presence of human trafficking mafias has also increased. “When [los migrantes] They arrive in San Andrés, are taken to dormitories where they stay for a few days and then transported to one of the Caribbean islands where they move. They were often abandoned, particularly in the southern keys of the San Andrés, Albuquerque and Bolívar archipelagos. The National Navy, as part of its duties, had to recover them, collect them and bring them back to the islands,” Grisales explained this Monday.
In fact, on December 5, the Attorney General's Office announced the arrest of 24 people, including five members of the National Navy, who were allegedly part of a migrant smuggling network that spanned various parts of the country, including the island of San Andrés. According to law enforcement, the criminal organization was called “The Agency” and irregularly transported migrants to San Andrés and the Darién Gap, then “regulated” their exit “to the United States, Canada and Australia.”
According to prosecutors, the network was sophisticated. There were members who created false visas for migrants; a Colombian immigration official in Capurganá – a Chocó town frequently visited by migrants traveling to Darién – who allegedly stamped false stamps on passports; and members of the National Navy who are accused of failing to conduct signal checks at sea and informing the network of the location of military ships in exchange for bribes. The defendants are accused of conspiracy, smuggling, bribery and money laundering.
Newsletter
Current events analysis and the best stories from Colombia, delivered to your inbox every week
GET THIS
Subscribe to the EL PAÍS newsletter about Colombia here and the WhatsApp channel here and receive all the important information on current events in the country.