ARTICLE - HAITI DRUG ROUTES TO BRAZIL

HAITIANS SMUGGLED INTO BRAZIL VIA DRUG ROUTES
(Insight Crime) - By Laura Gomez

Brazil's authorities are concerned about the increasing number of refugees from Haiti flooding into the country, traveling over routes more commonly used for drug trafficking.

The Haitian immigrants often travel through the Amazon region, guided by "coyotes" who charge between two thousand and five thousand dollars, reports Deutsche Welle.

The migrants travel through the neighboring Dominican Republic, to Panama, then through Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, crossing into Brazil in Tabatinga, Amazonas state, or Assis Brazil, Acre.

Brazil has received more than 1,300 applications for asylum from Haitian nationals since the earthquake which hit the island nation in January 2010. None of these have been accepted, according to the report, as natural disasters do not qualify people for asylum status.