中国人移民にジャングル迂回の「ＶＩＰルート」提供、１５人逮捕 パナマ

【メテティ（パナマ）ＡＦＰ＝時事】パナマの国境警察は７日、「ＶＩＰルート」と呼ばれる、隣国コロンビアとの間に広がるジャングルを迂回（うかい）する経路を使って米国に向かう中国人移民の国内通過を支援していたとして、犯罪組織に関係する１５人を逮捕した。（写真は、パナマ国境警察に身柄を拘束された、不法移民支援グループのメンバー〈中央〉）
　パナマとコロンビアの国境地帯にはダリエン地峡が広がっている。移民はそこで急流や野生動物といった障害に加え、ギャングによる強盗やレイプ、殺害などの危険に直面する。突破には通常、５～８日を要する。２０２３年には５０万人以上が通過した。
　今年はこれまでに２２万人超が通過。ベネズエラ人を中心に、エクアドル人、コロンビア人、ハイチ人、中国人も含まれる。
　しかし、ダリエン県の検事がＡＦＰに語ったところによると、中国人の中には海路を使い、難所を迂回するルートを選ぶ移民もいる。
　コロンビア沿岸のカプルガナやネコクリから、海路でパナマのカレトやカレドニアに向かうルートで、そこからカヌーや馬、全地形対応車などを利用して平均２日でジャングルを抜ける。
　一般的な地峡ルート通過の費用は１人当たり約５００ドル（約７万３０００円）で済むが、同検事によるとＶＩＰルートは２６００～８０００ドル（約３８万～１１７万円）。これまでに７００人以上に利用された。
　１５人はこの日、ダリエン県メテティ近郊の集落サンタフェで逮捕された。全員パナマ人で、コロンビアのギャングのために働いていたと主張しているという。
　有罪判決を受けた場合、１５～２０年の禁錮刑が科される可能性がある。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/08/08-16:17）

Panamanian border police arrested 15 people Wednesday connected to a criminal organization that helped smuggle Chinese migrants across the Darien jungle via a VIP route with fewer challenges to traverse.
The arrests were made in the town of Santa Fe, near the city of Meteti in Darien Province, Panama's border region with Colombia covered in dense jungle and through which hundreds of thousands of migrants cross on their way to the United States.
More than half a million people traversed the so-called Darien Gap in 2023, where migrants face dangers such as rapid river waters, wild animals and criminal gangs that rob, rape and kill those passing through the lawless forest.
But the VIP route -- which used all-terrain vehicles and even horses -- sped up the sometimes weeklong journey, at least for those who could afford it.
This year, more than 220,000 people have crossed the jungle, primarily Venezuelan migrants, but also people from Ecuador, Colombia, Haiti and China.
The latter group were the primary migrants to pay to use the VIP route facilitated by the crime ring, according to local prosecutor Emeldo Marquez.
He attributed this to their generally higher purchasing power compared to other migrant groups.
It's a route that has been called 'VIP' because it provides them with the ability to move faster than the route the rest of the migrants are using, Marquez told AFP.
The number of Chinese migrants crossing the Darien Gap has surged in recent years, from 296 recorded from 2010 to 2019 up to 12,000 so far in 2024, according to Panamanian government data.
The VIP route cost between $2,600 to $8,000 US dollars per person and was used to help more than 700 migrants through Panama, according to Marquez.
The route followed a different trajectory than the typical paths through the Darien Gap, which can take five to eight days to complete.
Instead, migrants left the towns of Capurgana or Necocli on the Colombian coast and traveled by sea to the villages of Carreto or Caledonia in Panama.
From there, they crossed the jungle in an average of two days using various modes of transportation, including canoe, horseback or even all-terrain vehicles.
The regular route costs about $500 US dollars per person.
All 15 suspects arrested were Panamanian, though Marquez alleged they worked for Colombian gangs.
If convicted, each person faces 15 to 20 years in prison.