The Darién Gap - A looking-glass into Colombia Bernardo Mercado, Shell

The DariÉn Gap -

A looking-glass into colombia

Bernardo Mercado, Shell

The first settlement in the Darién Gap (Tapón de Darién), and on the mainland Americas was started by the Spanish in 1510, only to have it later torched after 14 years. Similarly, the Scottish attempted to set up a colony here, sending 1200 settlers in 1698. Few returned, and the ill fate of the colony survives in the history of the Kuna Indians, as well as the financial ruining and eventual incorporation of the country into the United Kingdom, which they had resisted for so long. The topography and physical landscape vary between the two countries: in Colombia (one of the most biodiverse countries in the world), the area is dominated by the flat marshland, due to the river delta of the Atrato. There is also a mountain range extending from Colombia’s Pacific coast into Panama, covered mostly by rainforest. To enter from Panama, you must register with the border police (Servicio Nacional de Fronteras, or Senafront) who guard the dangerous area, who can turn you back at any point.

Drawing back through Colombian History

Though the region has been one never fully under Colombian (or any) control, we can use it as a marker of some aspects of past Colombia, as well as mention its geopolitical context, as this is an area surprisingly relevant to Colombian and Panamanian history as well as some issues of the region. Not withstanding the lack of control governments have had on the area, it is the location where criminal activities and rebel groups are natural drawn to – not a revelation, but the huge relevance and part of Colombian history the lines drawn over it and the substances which flow in and out play is surprising and can be twisted quite well into a tale of the history of Colombia, from its conception as Gran Colombia, to where it is now. Its being divided between two countries has some significance, both as a symbol of Panamanian independence and foreign influence. It was the US that aided Panama and rebels in gaining independence from Bogotá, with which it had no land route. The departing of Panama was in large part due to the effects of the Thousand Days’ War, which had had sever repercussions, and caused continued instability in government. The Isthmus Department declared independence and, with US bigger-navy diplomacy, seceded, though the news was delayed by a couple of days and reached Bogotá on November 6, 1903. The US had aided Panama largely because of the potential of the Panama canal, and after Colombia had proved a more difficult negotiator, backed Panamanian rebels, and instead took the land in a treaty (the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty) signed by no Panamanians, establishing the Panama Canal Zone as US territory. This was one of the multiple countries that seceded from what was originally Gran Colombia, which had become Venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia (then New Granada), the latter of which Panama eventually too seceded from, finalising the failure of Bolívar’s vision. Another large aspect of the Darién Gap are the guerrilla groups, which to this day, still operate in the area, carrying out drug trafficking and killing and torturing many making their journey through

here. The history of these groups, most notably the FARC, stems from ‘La Violencia,’ a civil war between the two major parties in Colombia (the Liberals and Conservatives), which came despite the Colombian commitment to democratic institutions. The war killed between 200,000 and 300,000 and came after the assassination of popular Liberal candidate, Jorge Eliécer Gaitán. The war ended with General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla installing a dictatorship (the third and final) in the country and was overthrown with support from the newly formed National Front. This coalition meant that there would be every four years, a change in ruling party, and parity in other offices, with mixed results – it became seen as repression and led to guerrillas M-19 and the FARC being created as communist insurgency groups, and some of the military also separated into rightwing paramilitary group, though eventually they became involved in the drug trade. This is one of the primary activities that happens now with the groups in the Darién, and cocaine in 1982 surpassed coffee as Colombia’s primary export, thanks largely to cartel operations. The Medellín cartel was once in charge of 80% of the world’s cocaine market and operated from as far south as Bolivia, up to Canada, and in almost every country betwixt them. Pablo Escobar, the notorious leader, was elected to the city council, just showing how much control he exerted over the city, which still struggles with his legacy as either a modern Robin Hood or a ruthless criminal – however, there has been a tremendous success in bringing the city under control, by creating a metro, a modern plaza, and installing public transport in the form of cable cars from the mountainsides down to the Central Business District. On a lighter, though less relevant, note, Pablo Escobar also introduced hippos to Colombia (an invasive species) and in Comuna 13, escalators have been used to connect the distant community, and are a form of public transport and have been incorporated into the local community and culture, being painted over as communal spaces – most of the Medellín’s revival comes down to a series of urban revival projects, meant to bring it up to the present and showcase Colombian innovation. However, since Pablo Escobar’s death in 1993, the violence stemming from cartels has mostly abated, though it still remains in smaller similar groups. The FARC has continued, though after Juan Manuel Santos was elected, he began peace talks with the guerrilla group, to many people’s surprise. However, the 2016 referendum to ratify the agreement was unsuccessful, despite the polls indicating that it would be otherwise. The ‘No’ side was mainly backed by ex-president Uribe, who had been an independent candidate, and argued that the deal was too forgiving of the FARC’s illegal activities and horrifying methods, whilst the ‘Yes’ side argued that the people should put it behind them, though (according to Colombian accounts) there were many other issues and much more behind the referendum. One of the more interesting thing that the vote revealed was that the regions most affected by the actions of the FARC, and of the groups similar to the ones which still lie in the Darién, voted largely

for the agreement, including the department of Chocó (which includes the isthmus), Nariño and Putumayo. The cities and more heavily populated regions (minus Bogotá), and those less affected, voted against the deal. A later deal was approved by Congress, FARC ceased (mostly) to be a military group, and Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. However, the region, despite efforts from both governments to push inside, has not yet fallen under the control of either, and insurgents and FARC dissidents remain in there, along with native tribes and the local flora and fauna – drugs also flow in and out, not having stopped despite the fragile peace achieved by Santos and the dramatic downsizing of cartels. Atrocities are still committed there and many adventurers who try to cross don’t make it out. The Darién Gap has also seen attempts on both sides to try to create a route through the gap, consensus collapsed in the 70s, partially due to indigenous peoples and environmental damage, drug trafficking and violence, and preventing foot-and-mouth disease from moving into North America. The primary reason cited, however, is the economic cost building a road through the isthmus would incur. As a result, it cuts South from North America, effectively a ‘sea’ of jungle slicing the Pan-American highway, and the continents, in two. It covers both coasts, and ends in Turbo, Colombia and Yaviza, Panama. The only safe and more feasible crossing is by the Atlantic, though there are routes inland via canoe or by foot. More recently, there was the crisis in Venezuela, with hyperinflation and mass exodus, and in response, many neighbours and Latin American countries closed their borders and raised restrictions on the Venezuelan migrants. Colombia, despite the ideological differences with the Maduro government, has offered humanitarian aid, and opened its arms to Venezuelans escaping the regime – this was not only on the part of the government, however, and the people of Colombia welcomed Venezuelans into their homes, in a way in return for the same warmth they received from Venezuela when Colombians fled from the FARC and the wars. This also raises another interesting part of the Darién Gap’s modern story: it is often traversed by migrants seeking the US – groups travel often on foot through the dense forest, whether from Bangladesh and South Asia, or from Africa and the many other parts of the world which are entangled in war and violence, who first fly into Ecuador due to its more lax visa policy, and traverse both Colombia and the Darién Gap, and then continue onto the American border, to hopefully make it through. As well as the dangers of simply getting lost in the isolated region, or the difficulty posed by the geography, the nature in the area is obscure, relatively unknown, and may very well poison / kill you on your journey through the Americas, only adding on to the potential ways to die in the Darién Gap.

For the people living inside, if they are not in the drug trade, there is little they can earn a living from, and so the few people seeking to travel across inland by canoe or foot provide a source of income, by selling items from the area. Thus, it is very difficult to live in the area, and poverty / basic living is common, in this case facilitating manipulation and detachment from government. However, for the people crossing and those living there, the situation stays the same. In many ways, it remains as wild as it was in the days of the first European settlers. For now though, unless we were to change course, it seems like the Panamanian and Colombian governments will leave the region mostly to its own devices, for fear of destroying the biodiversity that exists in its own microcosm, freed from government and the modernising world, and splitting the Americas in twain.

Bernardo Mercado, Shell