ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

W5
W5

    • 'Narco Jungle': A cameraman's perspective filming in the Darien Gap

    Share

    Ping. It’s the end of June, I’m on assignment in Northern Ontario when I get a text message from Avery Haines.

    “Hey Jer,†it reads. “Have you ever heard of the Darien Gap?â€

    “Yes,†I text back and quickly Google “Darien Gap†to refresh my memory before our conversation continues. The first hit that appears tells me, “The region is crawling with paramilitary groups and criminal gangs. They are ready to pick off migrants along the way. Violence, extortion and rape are common threats for the migrants. So is death from snake bites, exposure and drowning.â€

    Avery is texting me from her vacation in southern Costa Rica. She tells me she is surrounded by women, men and children who emerged from the jungle and made their way to Costa Rica, having survived “The Gap.†She tells me about their incredible resilience and their desperation.

    “You want to help me tell their stories?†she asks. Again, I immediately text back: “Yes.â€

    I’ve had the privilege of shooting with Avery on stories that have taken us to North Korea, Iraq, Haiti, Hong Kong and -- repeatedly -- deep into cartel-controlled territories of Mexico. So, whenever I receive a text from her that begins, “Do you want to…†I always interrupt with an emphatic “Yes.â€

    Spin ahead six months and after weeks of research, security briefings, insurance questions and of asking ourselves 'are we really going to do this?', we are ready to tackle our most difficult assignment ever: trekking deep in the jungle from Colombia to Panama.

    (CTV W5)

    This assignment comes with a number of technical challenges.

    Electronics don’t like moisture and the Darien Gap is one of the wettest places on the planet. It’s incredibly humid, and there are hundreds of river crossings.

    W5 Director of Photography Jerry Vienneau shares what it was like filming in the Darien Gap at the Colombia-Panama border -- a treacherous journey that hundreds of thousands of migrants attempt every year.

    We’ll have to lug my equipment through the jungle for at least six days, along with all our food and supplies.

    I usually travel with nine hard cases of gear: three cameras, lights, monitors, tripods and audio gear. But for this trip, I need to scale way back and bring just two small DSLR cameras (Sony 24-70 2.8 lens) supplemented by a drone and GoPro.

    The plan is for our team to also use cellphones to capture scenes developing in front of us.

    From the usual nine cases of gear, Vienneau whittled his equipment down to two backpacks for the journey across the Darien Gap (CTV W5)

    Normally I put a lavalier microphone on Avery that wirelessly transmits to my camera, but because I am worried about moisture, I decide to use a submersible mic that Avery sewed into her bra. I devised a plan to put the recorder in a surgical glove to protect it, and then put the recorder inside a runners pouch that Avery would wear around her waist.

    From nine cases, I whittled my equipment down to two backpacks.

    Setting off on the journey, I had a lot of things on my mind: obviously the human desperation we were witnessing, but also my concerns about carrying and protecting my equipment through treacherous terrain.

    Every night in the jungle, I put my equipment in zip lock bags with heavy duty silica packs to try to remove any moisture. I also kept all my gear under my hammock to keep it close to me at all times.

    Avery Haines chronicles her and her W5 crew's perilous trek across the dangerous Darien Gap, which hundreds of thousands of migrants risk their lives crossing every year (CTV W5)

    It became clear really early on that shooting the way I usually do was not going to work in the Darien Gap. Pulling out my tripod, setting up shots and making sure everything was perfect was taking too long, and making us fall behind the families we were following through the jungle.

    We were also constantly racing against nightfall because we needed to find a relatively safe place before the sun went down, so we had to move faster. I started to shoot more “run and gun†style. At times, I even had to pack away my DSLR because I needed both hands to grab onto tree roots and to scale rock faces.

    My equipment held up suprisingly well. I relied on cell phone shooting more than I thought I would but was glad I had my larger cameras to shoot more cinematic images for our documentary.

    Vienneau trained for the journey for months with a weighted backpack and long hikes. He also whittled all his gear down to two backpacks (CTV W5)

    The trek was much more physically exhausting than I anticipated, even though I trained for months with a weighted backpack and long hikes in my neighborhood in Toronto.

    I’m an avid marathon runner and long distance cyclist but six days of hauling equipment through ankle deep mud, waist high river crossings and oppressive humidity took its toll.

    I lost 16 pounds over the six days.

    An exhausted Jerry Vienneau lying in front of some of the migrants on the journey across the Darien Gap (CTV W5)

    I had planned to write this during the six-hour flight home from Panama City. But I wasn’t ready at the time to take my mind back to what I had just experienced. I needed a little distance. I needed to see my family. That was about a month-and-a-half ago.

    I remember everything as if it was yesterday: the initial reluctance of migrants to let me shoot video of them at the beginning of the trek, to the end of the harrowing journey, when the jungle would erupt with sounds of “Jerry†when they saw me approaching -- we were bonded by the fact we had all gone through this terrible ordeal together.

    I hope the cries of kids and babies that I heard all those days in the jungle have stopped and that the people I met are in a good place now. They’ve had a permanent impact on my life. Witnessing their tears, desperation, frustration, but also their strength, determination, perseverance, are all memories I’ll carry with me forever.

    From left: Producer/translator Teresa Scott, Jerry Viennau and W5 managing editor and host Avery Haines on the Darien Gap (CTV W5)

    Watch W5’s 'Narco Jungle: The Darien Gap' in our video player at the top of this article

    CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

    The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

    Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn’t been seen since Wednesday morning.

    B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who was shot by the RCMP after allegedly barricading herself in a room with a toddler early Thursday morning.

    Quebec Premier Francois Legault is calling on the Bloc Quebecois to topple the Trudeau government next Wednesday and trigger a federal election.

    Canada

    • B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who was shot by the RCMP after allegedly barricading herself in a room with a toddler early Thursday morning.

    • Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn’t been seen since Wednesday morning.

    • Friends and strangers have set up a makeshift memorial outside the home of a five-year-old boy who was found dead yesterday in Coteau-du-lac.

    • The lawyer for a B.C. RCMP officer convicted of obstruction for telling a witness to delete cellphone video following the violent 2017 arrest of Dale Culver has requested a stay of proceedings.

    • The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    • Lawyers representing the producers of 'Russians at War' say they may pursue legal action against Ontario's public broadcaster for pulling support for the controversial documentary amid outcry from the Ukrainian community and some Canadian politicians.

    • Viewers of Jeopardy got a chance to test their knowledge of trivia about B.C.'s biggest city Wednesday night.

    Business

    Lifestyle

    • Only one Toronto restaurant earned a Michelin star this year, but it is not a first for the chef who brought the establishment to stardom.

    • They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

    Sports

    • Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he's been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season's playoffs.

    • Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette returned to the 10-day injured list Thursday due to a right middle finger fracture.

    Autos

    • Video of a brazen daylight auto theft which shows a suspect running over a victim in a stolen luxury SUV has been released by police west of Toronto.

    • The plant was expected to produce batteries for a million electric vehicles a year. Once up and running, it was supposed to create hundreds of permanent jobs in a small southeastern Ontario municipality. But two years later, spending on the construction of the Umicore plant has been delayed in what the company calls a "significant worsening of the EV market context."

    • A Winnipeg man is asking for help after a classic car that has been a part of his family since the 1950s was stolen from his garage.

    Local Spotlight

    They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

    Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

    The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

    The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

    It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

    A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

    David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

    Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.

    A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.

    • B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who was shot by the RCMP after allegedly barricading herself in a room with a toddler early Thursday morning.

    • Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

    • The 'Namgis First Nation says a fish farm it owns near Port McNeill shows the potential of land-based aquaculture in B.C.

    • Toronto police are asking for the public's help in identifying one of the suspected shooters in Tuesday's fatal double shooting in North York.

    • A pedestrian has been seriously injured after being struck by a vehicle in North York.

    • Students across York Region will once again see uniformed officers at school, however police and board officials say they will only be stopping by for the occasional safety presentation.

    • We've produced a special webcast edition of CTV News Calgary for Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024.

    • The Parole Board of Canada says a man who assaulted a young pregnant woman and left her for dead remains too dangerous to be released into the community.

    • A Vulcan, Alta., man has been charged with a Lethbridge woman's murder after her body was found in the Oyen area.

    • Police say a man who was taken to hospital in critical condition after being shot Thursday night has died.

    • A byelection was called for the Bay of Quinte riding less than a week after Progressive Conservative MPP Todd Smith, Ontario's education minister at the time, resigned his seat in August.

    • Customers are in the dark about the sudden closure of the Upper Room Furniture stores. The company has filed papers under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. It’s not known whether orders placed and paid for will be honoured.

    • Quebec Premier Francois Legault is calling on the Bloc Quebecois to topple the Trudeau government next Wednesday and trigger a federal election.

    • A harrowing video has been presented to a jury at the trial of three men facing first-degree murder charges.

    • The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

    • Five bison are dead at Elk Island National Park east of Edmonton following an early Thursday morning collision.

    • An Edmonton man who is charged with sexually assaulting a teen boy is a member of the Alberta sheriffs, CTV News Edmonton has confirmed.

    • The mayor of Fort Saskatchewan apologized on Thursday for comments she made earlier this week about killing feral cats.

    • New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has called for a provincial election. Voters will go to the polls on Oct. 21, as prescribed by the province's fixed-date election law.

    • Police are asking people to avoid the Dartmouth Commons area in Dartmouth, N.S., as they assist with a wildlife call for a bear.

    • An 83-year-old man is facing sexual interference charges following a Nova Scotia RCMP investigation.

    • Manitobans are continuing to mop up after a deluge of rain hit southern Manitoba earlier in the week.

    • Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn’t been seen since Wednesday morning.

    • A Winnipeg pet rescue is putting out a warning to dog owners across the city about a possible parvovirus in the province.

    • A social media post of purple apples “growing†in Saskatchewan has sparked a lot of attention. However, garden experts say there's no such thing.

    • A case involving stolen funds from a Saskatchewan business being used to purchase cryptocurrency will be heading back to the courts, thanks to a new decision by Saskatchewan's Court of Appeal.

    • Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has confirmed a tornado touched down Wednesday evening near Langbank, Sask.

    • Amber and Adam Brueckner have a pool-shaped hole in their backyard – and their wallets.

    • New details have been shared about a missing family that was last seen on Sept. 1 in Kitchener, Ont.

    • Police are trying to identify a man who approached a woman and child in Wellesley.

    • A gym teacher at a private Christian school in Saskatoon has been charged. Terra MacEwan, 44, is charged with assault with a weapon. A Saskatoon mother who spoke with CTV News says her autistic son was MacEwan's victim.

    • Thomas Hamp says he believed secret police were out to kidnap, torture, and kill him when he fatally stabbed his girlfriend Emily Sanche in February of 2022.

    • A social media post of purple apples “growing†in Saskatchewan has sparked a lot of attention. However, garden experts say there's no such thing.

    • They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

    • As northern Ontario gets ready to welcome autumn this weekend, it’s still feeling a lot like summer as provincial forest fire crews continue to battle blazes.

    • James Bay Ontario Provincial Police have charged four commercial vehicle drivers with impaired, including one who was hauling 36,000 kilograms of ammonia hydrate.

    • A Woodstock homeowner says she’s at her wit’s end over a homeless encampment situated alongside her backyard. She’s calling on the city to do more to help those living rough, so she can live in peace.

    • Police were focusing their attention on the northeast corner of Richmond and Horton, with members of the emergency response unit taking up positions at the scene.

    • A union representative says someone driving a pick-up truck with heavily tinted windows rammed a member on Western Road, near Elborn College.

    • Two men from Barrie have been charged after a deadly shooting at a park in Keswick on Wednesday.

    • A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

    • A 32-year-old man is facing charges after police say his vehicle struck a child in an Owen Sound intersection.

    • The Windsor Police Service (WPS) has seized over $56,000 in drugs and have arrested one suspect.

    • SERVEONE Canada, a global procurement solution company, has begun Canadian operations in Tecumseh.

    • Enrolment may be down at St. Clair College, but President Mike Silvaggi isn’t bothered.

    • In a rare move, the Greater Victoria School District Board of Education has been slapped with a ministerial order from the province requiring it to update a student safety plan – drawing concern around political posturing leading up to an election.

    • The Union of B.C. Municipalities is asking the provincial government to make transit free for teenagers.

    • To appreciate why Mimi Vandermolen is so pleased to notice one particular vehicle she’s walking past, you need to know that seeing this many cars in one place would have been unimaginable when she was growing-up in the post-war Netherlands.

    • A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.

    • The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.

    • Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls – including one that gave birth to 10 puppies – from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.

    • A Vulcan, Alta., man has been charged with a Lethbridge woman's murder after her body was found in the Oyen area.

    • A Lethbridge couple got a good reminder as to why you should keep your vehicle doors locked at all times.

    • Lethbridge residents who live near the police range can expect to hear plenty of shots fired Wednesday and Thursday.

    • A new community health profile in the Algoma District shows the area is significantly below provincial averages in a number of health metrics.

    • North Bay Police Service says one person has died following an industrial accident at the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission Rail Yard on Tuesday.

    • Three northern Ontario residents are charged with drug trafficking after the vehicle they were in got stuck along a bush road off Highway 17 on Monday.

    N.L.

    Shopping Trends

    The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.

    Stay Connected
    Follow CTV News