The mayor of N.YEric Adamsvisited this Saturday, by land and air, the region of Colombian Gulf of Urabá, where migrants begin their route through the dangerous jungle of Darién towards Central America and where this year a historic figure of more than 400,000 people have crossed.

“It is crucial for us and my delegation to come here and engage on the ground with NGOs and residents here who are affected, and communicate with migrants and asylum seekers,” Adams said in the town of Necoclí, where hundreds of people to wait. a place on the boats that take them to the other side of the Urabá to start the route through the jungle.

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After an aerial tour through the towns of Acandí, Capurganá and Sapzurro, on the other side of the gulf, Adams has visited the streets of Necoclí, where “people sleep on the streets, waiting for transport to begin a terrible journey that is very dangerous through the Darien.

“It is an international issue, but also regional and the only way we can solve this problem is for everyone who is part of it. work with others,” said the mayor, who believes there must be a coordinated plan among all countries in the region to resolve the humanitarian crisis.

Additionally, the mayor believes the solution also includes better information that counters the “false hopes and false promises” that migrants have when they arrive in the United States. Therefore, they must be given “truthful information about what is happening in the United States.” States.” the streets of New York.”

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“Putting people through this, especially children, is not the right thing to do. I think we need a real analysis and we must all come together to find a solution to a problem that is affecting this region like never before,” emphasized the mayor, who said that his role is not to allow any country to tell it how to do its job. but rather to seek joint “human” solutions.

Joint solutions

The Colombian Ambassador to the United States, Luis Gilberto Murillo, who accompanied the visit together with the Director of Police, William René Salamanca, assured for his part that this visit is “an excellent opportunity to discuss the challenges that we share and that occur. of the current migration crisis.”

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“It also allows us to deepen the efforts that Colombia continues to make to tackle irregular migration in our country in a committed manner,” said Murillo, who recalled that Colombia is home to almost 3 million Venezuelans, on whom it has an unprecedented has applied regularization so that they have access to “health care, education, housing, employment and social services.”

“Colombia’s efforts in the care and reception of migrants have eased the burden on the social systems of the United States and other countries in the hemisphere,” the ambassador told the mayor, calling for “increased efforts” to address the “fundamental causes”. of the crisis in Darien.

And he stated: “Mayor Adams and I are discussing additional collaborative efforts at the national and local levels to create social and economic opportunities and discourage irregular migration through transit countries like Colombia to destination countries.” (JO)