At least 400 female and child migrants have been brutalized in ‘rape tents’ along infamous Darien Gap while making treacherous journey to the US, bombshell new report reveals

At least 400 women and children have been treated by Doctors Without Borders this year after being raped in tents set up specifically to abuse migrants in the infamous Darien Gap, a bomb new report has revealed.

In October alone, 107 rape survivors, including 59 people in one week, were treated by the organization.

The youngest victims were 11, 12 and 16 years old.

“A 100-kilometre stretch of wilderness known to be one of the most dangerous border crossings for migrants in the world – people report being subjected to kidnappings and rape in tents set up for that purpose,” Doctors Without Borders said last week.

An estimated 460,000 migrants have crossed the Darien Gap so far this year in hopes of reaching the US.

Earlier this month, a caravan of 7,000 migrants made its way through the treacherous path.

Armed groups of men are demanding money from migrants – most of whom have already spent their life savings to make the journey north – just to be allowed through the Darien Gap.

Those who cannot pay are subjected to abuse ranging from unwanted touching to rape in the presence of other migrants or in tents set up to abuse victims.

Aerial view of migrants walking through the jungle near the village of Bajo Chiquito, the first border checkpoint of Panama’s Darien Province, on September 22, 2023. The clandestine journey through the Darien Gap usually takes five or six days, at the mercy of all kinds of bad weather

More than 84,490 people entered Costa Rica through the southern border with Panama in August – a 55 percent increase from July

One rape occurs every three hours, and doctors believe they do not know the full extent of the problem because many victims do not come forward.

The organization only counts victims who seek medical care once they leave the Darien Gap in Panama.

“How can you survive five rapes,” a tearful Venezuelan woman, whose name was withheld, told the organization.

“We went through the jungle in search of a better future, not the end of our lives,” she said. ‘A snake doesn’t end your life. Your life will be ended by the men in the jungle who rape and kill.”

Migrants who can afford it pay ‘guides’ to help them quickly cross the dangerous jungle and avoid danger.

But those who don’t are on their own and even paying a guide doesn’t guarantee protection from kidnapping, rape or murder.

Traveling in packs offers protection, but the armed thugs who stalk migrants in the jungle will kidnap entire groups, the Venezuelan victim explained.

“They hit me on the legs with a bat because those of us who had no money were beaten,” she added.

‘Those who said they had no money, but turned out to have money when their house was searched, were even more injured. They said, “Oh yeah, she has some money,” and they raped them. I have seen many people being raped. I saw them left naked and beaten. One, two or three of them grab you and rape you, and then the next one comes and rapes you again, and when you scream they beat you.”

Migrants heading north line up to take a boat in Bajo Chiquito in Panama’s Darien Province, Thursday, October 5, 2023, after walking across the Darien Gap from Colombia

If the pace remains high, as many as 400,000 people are expected to bridge the gap by the end of the year

Costa Rica has declared a state of emergency as it grapples with the influx of migrants in transit to the US. Asylum seekers are seen asking for money in San Jose

Costa Rica declared a state of emergency after more than a quarter of a million migrants crossed through the Central American country on their way to the US-Mexico border.

According to Doctors Without Borders, 95% of rape victims are women, but sometimes men are also raped.

Men who try to prevent rape may also face violence or death.

“Some young men were also beaten and thrown to the ground for trying to defend the women,” the Venezuelan woman said.

“They killed a boy in front of our eyes with a shot to the forehead.”

The dangerous jungle crossing has been reduced from over a week to just two days for strong hikers, through a network of guides, established camps and rudimentary route markings

A Panamanian Senafront soldier patrols the lawless jungle where violent and armed gangs target desperate travelers on their journey to the US.

Doctors Without Borders demanded that global governments guarantee the safe passage of migrants and access to medical care, after what they have seen on the ground.

“No one should have to endure this kind of violence,” said the organization’s medical coordinator, Carmenza Gálvez.

‘Migration is not a crime. Human mobility is a universal right.’