No choice: Braving the Darien jungle to flee Maduro's Venezuela
The Peninsula
Lajas Blancas, Panama:Oswards Ruiz said he had no choice but to flee Venezuela after President Nicolas Maduro claimed reelection in a July election th...
Lajas Blancas, Panama: Oswards Ruiz said he had no choice but to flee Venezuela after President Nicolas Maduro claimed reelection in a July election the opposition says he stole.
Seated on the ground next to a flimsy tent in a jungle in Panama, the 39-year-old said that, after the vote, he started receiving death threats for supporting the opposition.
"The people achieved what we wanted: to win the election. But they stole it from us," he told AFP.
"We were beaten up by the 'colectivos' (pro-Maduro armed groups), and we had to flee... I left my country because they wanted to kill me."
So Ruiz and a companion traded one life-threatening situation for another, opting for an arduous trek through the Darien jungle separating Colombia from Panama, from where they hope to reach Central America, Mexico, and ultimately the United States.
