The Darien Gap—the rugged, marshy isthmus straddling the rainforests of Colombia and Panama—has become a bottleneck in the flow of migrants from South America to the United States. In recent years, migrants have begun pouring across the previously impassible narrow crossing. Though human rights advocates have lamented the tremendous suffering that this dangerous path entails for migrants, relatively little attention has been paid to the reasons underlying Darien Gap’s “opening.” The nearly 400,000 migrants who have traveled from South America to the US-Mexico border this year alone would not have been able to cross the Darien Gap save for the egregious corruption of local Colombian authorities. Corruption has enabled people to escape the abuses of repressive regimes in Venezuela and elsewhere. Yet in so doing, it has created its own humanitarian disaster by facilitating a journey full of death and despair.

Corruption in the Darien Gap has operated on two levels. First, public officials have taken bribes from the criminal organizations that exert control over much of the territory in and around the Darien Gap. The Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces––also known as the Gulf Clan––controls much of the local economy, conducts regular shakedowns of business owners, and bribes government officials. Although its leaders claim that it does not directly operate human trafficking operations, there is evidence that the Gaitanistas profit from the migrant trade: Though the so-called “coyotes,” who help smuggle migrants through the territory, may operate independently, they enjoy the protection of the Gulf Clan in exchange for a share of their profits. The cartel in turn bribes local officials to effectively guarantee that the smuggling operations can continue without interference from law enforcement.

In addition to receiving bribes from the cartels, local Colombian municipal leaders have used their offices to enrich themselves by operating certain pieces of the smuggling operation under official pretenses. The increase in migrant flows would not have been possible without local government officials directly cooperating with smugglers by furnishing equipment and providing access to public infrastructure. Many elements of the difficult crossing are operated with the direct oversight of local government officials. The abuse of public office to orchestrate a criminal conspiracy ought to be a shock even to the most seasoned Latin American anticorruption experts.

This pervasive corruption makes it impossible to enforce immigration controls in the Darien Gap. The graft that human trafficking has produced –– not to mention the direct participation of government officials in illicit activities –– creates strong incentives for local leaders to flout any guidance from the Colombian government or the international community. Moreover, alternative solutions to the migrant crisis are also unworkable if local government officials continue to derive corrupt benefits from the status quo. Advocates interested in orderly resettlement of Venezuelan refugees in South America or in having the international community facilitate the movement of migrants through the region must grapple with the reality that local Colombian officials have little incentive to help implement these policies if doing so would dry up the flows of illicit revenue.

Endemic corruption in the Darien Gap poses a dilemma for humanitarian observers. Petty criminals, cartels, and corrupt local officials have created an untenable situation for migrants fleeing repressive regimes around the world. While the Gap’s opening has facilitated the passage of these migrants to the United States, corruption has substituted one humanitarian disaster for another. Advocating for the continued flow of these migrants to the United States means subjecting them to unbearable conditions and supporting an illicit economy sustained by ruthless criminals. As between a world in which the Gap is closed and the Gap remains open––albeit corrupt––human rights advocates may prefer the latter. But policymakers ought to reject this false choice. While closing the Gap would cause tremendous harm, the costs of a corrupt Gap are too painful to ignore. The migrant crisis will not be solved unless the Western Hemisphere gets serious about viewing corruption as an intolerable injustice rather than a necessary evil.

Advocates could consider several strategies to stamp out corruption. First, the Organization of American States should deploy a special rapporteur to the region tasked specifically with investigating the corruption of local government officials. The scope of these officials’ corrupt activities is not well documented. The scant evidence at hand points to pervasive bribery, but more must be done to identify the precise contours of the problem. Second, the risks to national security and human lives should compel the United States to sanction individual Colombian politicians who continue to profit from human smuggling. Third, the Colombian federal government must move to displace the authority of the local elected officials who have allowed the unlawful flow of migrants to increase. If none of these solutions prove effective, the only workable option may be to turn the Darien into a humanitarian disaster zone run with the assistance of international organizations and NGOs. Removing monetary incentives altogether would eliminate the ability of local government officials to profit from human trafficking operations.