The Path (2024-2025)

The Path is an ongoing project that follows one of the world’s most perilous migration routes, tracing the journey of thousands from Colombia to the U.S.–Mexico border. It focuses on two of the most dangerous and symbolic stages: the treacherous crossing of the Darién Gap—a lawless jungle between Colombia and Panama—and the grueling ride atop La Bestia, the freight trains that carry migrants north through Mexico.

These routes have become brutal symbols of the desperation, resilience, and determination that define the migrant experience in Latin America. Driven by violence, poverty, political instability, and climate crises, people from countries like Venezuela, Haiti, Ecuador, and Honduras risk everything in pursuit of the American Dream. But the road north is fraught with danger, marked by exploitation and uncertainty.

In the Darién Gap, migrants navigate nearly 100 kilometers of dense rainforest with no roads—just rivers, steep terrain, and criminal groups who profit from smuggling and extortion. In Mexico, those who survive the jungle often board La Bestia, riding exposed atop moving trains, facing gang violence and the constant risk of injury or death.

Since Donald Trump’s return to power in January, renewed hardline immigration policies have pushed the most vulnerable onto even more dangerous, informal paths. Thousands are now stranded across Central America and Mexico, trapped in shelters, camps, or violent territories with little hope of moving forward.