A recent video released by the investigative organization Muckraker, and disseminated by the Oversight Project, has sparked controversy over the role of humanitarian organizations in the ongoing migrant crisis.
The footage, captured in the northwestern Colombian town of Necocl, reveals a Red Cross employee and a representative from MedGlobal, a non-profit organization, offering assistance and advice to an individual they believed to be a migrant. However, the recipient of this aid was, in fact, an undercover reporter.
As reported by The Blaze, both the Red Cross and MedGlobal have received substantial funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development. The video footage has raised questions about the organizations' roles in aiding individuals attempting to traverse the perilous human trafficking corridor leading to the United States.
"The Red Cross is supposed to be keeping people safe. The idea that they'd coach illegal aliens to go through one of the most dangerous jungles on the planet on their way to breaking into the United States is absolutely upside down," Mike Howell, president of the Oversight Project, told Blaze News.
The video shows a Red Cross employee, identifying himself as a psychologist, offering advice to the undercover reporter. "My mission is to simply give you some strategies," he said. "There are some things that I think are important that you have in mind for your safety, yes? Because we know that making the journey to Mexico or the United States on this route has some risks, yes?"
The Guardian reports that at least 300,000 migrants traversed the human trafficking corridor last year, with the Panamanian government recording over half a million migrants making the journey the previous year. The migrants included individuals from Somalia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Congo, Sudan, and Iran. In 2024, 55 U.S.-bound migrants reportedly lost their lives crossing the Darin Gap, and hundreds of children were abandoned in the jungle.
The Red Cross, which has long been supported by U.S. taxpayers, has been open about its efforts to assist migrants. The International Committee of the Red Cross and the National Red Cross Societies of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador have provided illegal aliens with a "self-care" kit containing tips on mitigating risks associated with migration, information on train routes, water crossings, and locations for food and shelter.
WKYC-TV confirmed last year that the American Red Cross, the Mexican Red Cross, and other Red Cross agencies were distributing a map that shows optimal routes through Mexico to the U.S. border.
In the controversial footage, a MedGlobal staffer can be seen providing the undercover reporter with jungle survival gear, including food, fluids, soap, sunscreen, and anti-bacterial pills to purify water during his journey through the human smuggling corridor.
Anthony Rubin of Muckraker stated, "It is clear that the intent of both groups was to assist our undercover reporter in illegally heading north to the United States." He further criticized the misuse of taxpayer money, saying, "It is time to restore fiscal responsibility and rein in this weaponization and abuse of taxpayer money being used to support illegal immigration."
Mike Howell echoed Rubin's sentiments, telling Blaze News, "This is clearly an organizational effort, as is the entirety of the border industrial complex that the United States has heavily funded." Howell plans to discuss the matter with border czar Tom Homan in an upcoming meeting.
This revelation comes on the heels of Howell's recent alert to the Trump administration about the alleged efforts of the taxpayer-funded Chinese-American Planning Council to undermine U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's enforcement of federal law and removal of illegal aliens from the United States. The role of humanitarian organizations in the migrant crisis, and the potential misuse of taxpayer funds, remains a contentious issue.
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