BAJO CHIQUITO, Panama –

Jesús Chávez, a 34-year-old pastry chef from Barquisimeto, Venezuela, arrived in this small village on the edge of the Darien jungle in Panama on Friday.

He was traveling with five other people, a mix of friends and family. They all left Venezuela last Saturday with the aim of reaching the United States.

He said the group had waited in Venezuela for the results of July’s presidential election, but after President Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner despite evidence of his defeat, they decided to leave. “We didn’t see any hope,” Chávez said.

They entered the Darien Gap on Tuesday and heard about Donald Trump’s presidential victory while trudging through the jungle.

Migrants queue to board a boat on the Tuquesa River near Bajo Chiquito after crossing the Darien Gap from Colombia en route to the United States, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/ Matias Delacroix)

“We’re trying to get in as early as possible, before January, to see if we have a chance with CBP One,” he said, referring to the U.S. government’s online portal that allows migrants to make appointments. you to apply for asylum at the border. . Trump announced he would end CBP One.

Chávez said they wanted to go to the southern Mexican city of Tapachula, where they could access the app.

In Bajo Chiquito, migrants can buy food, rent rooms, hammocks or spaces to set up their tents. There is Wi-Fi and NGOs offering medical care.

Venezuelans make up the majority of passing migrants, but Friday’s group also included people from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Bangladesh.

As of Tuesday, Panama had recorded nearly 289,000 migrant arrivals via Darien. This is approximately 38% less than the same period last year. Sixty-nine percent of this year’s arrivals were Venezuelans.