Dramatic story of young Venezuelan migrant family's 5,000 mile trek to NYC - only for new life in Connecticut to be shattered by wife's shocking decision

The dream has turned sour for a Venezuelan mates who risked their lives pinch their 3 children and nan family canine connected a year-long odyssey to scope nan US.

Henry Aguilar, 34, and his partner Leivy Ortega, 29, lashed themselves to freight car roofs, waded done torrential rivers and stepped complete corpses successful nan jungle successful their bid to scope nan US, reports nan New York Times.

The family made it to New York, happily posing for photos successful Times Square, earlier being housed successful a two-bedroom location successful Middletown, Connecticut by a non-profit.

Aguilar thought he had realized his dream of being capable to 'play ball' pinch his children successful an American park, but they were evicted from their location and Ortega was arrested for battle aft she turned nan shot bat connected him.

'If it's God's will that I'm not present successful 2 years, past truthful beryllium it,' Aguilar told nan NYT.

The family became a awesome of nan millions making nan perilous travel to nan confederate separator arsenic nan wide newspaper checked successful pinch them periodically connected their 5,000-mile travel north.

Aguilar near Venezuela successful 2017 arsenic nan country's system collapsed, gathering his chap Venezuelan exile Ortega 3 years later successful Chile.

They had 3 children betwixt them who persuaded them that they should effort to commencement a caller life successful nan US.

Aguilar, a erstwhile constabulary officer, realized his chances were slim aft spending 2 years successful a Venezuelan jailhouse for taking portion successful an equipped shake-down of personification who owed money to a friend.

But astatine nan commencement of past twelvemonth they decided to excavation their meagre resources and subordinate nan millions attempting nan arduous and chaotic travel done cardinal America pinch their children Hayli, 6, Samuel, 10, Josué, 11, and nan family labrador Donna.

'It's going to beryllium a expansive adventure,' Aguilar told nan children. 'But pinch real-life obstacles.'

The family headed northbound to Colombia, sleeping unsmooth successful a municipality plaza for 2 weeks earlier Aguilar earned capable to rent a home.

He devised a home-made 'boot camp' to toughen up nan children up of nan jungle limb of their journey, sending them connected bicycle rides astir a section sports stadium and making judge they were acclimatized to early starts.

By August they had raised capable to salary $300 to an equipped group for support to participate nan jungles of nan notorious Darien Gap, receiving pinkish wristbands successful return from their bandit escorts.

The 'grand adventure' turned into a miserable struggle for endurance arsenic they mislaid nan tegument from their feet connected nan agelong march up pinch hundreds of chap Venezuelans up nan Panamanian isthmus.

Hayli mislaid 2 toenails and Aguilar was forced to transportation his family one-by-one crossed raging rivers.

Those astatine nan beforehand of nan group would outcry retired 'Muerto! Muerto!' arsenic they stumbled crossed nan bodies of erstwhile migrants lying dormant successful nan forest.

The family had thing to eat but stream h2o for 2 days aft sharing their supplies pinch different starving migrants and it was six days earlier nan exhausted statement emerged from their jungle nightmare.

Back connected paved roads they began nan agelong hike northbound to Mexico City, usually sleeping successful tents and flitting surreptitiously crossed nan borders of Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala.

Josué remained fixed connected his ambition to spot nan 'pantallas' aliases screens of New York's Times Square, while Samuel diligently tracked their slow advancement connected a pouch representation of cardinal America.

They hid what money they had successful holes trim into their clothes, and sporadic ligament transfers from family members kept past from starvation.

But autobus companies refused them carrier and it was astir 2 months earlier they arrived battered and exhausted successful Mexico City.

Pitching their shelter extracurricular a autobus terminal nan family could not spend nan $1 for a bucket ablution aliases raise capable money for a autobus to nan US border.

They decided their only action was to brave 'la bestia', aliases 'the Beast', nan sanction fixed by migrants to nan freight trains that person killed aliases maimed hundreds of migrants trying to thrust them north.

Hours would walk arsenic they waited by nan tracks for a slowing train earlier scrambling onto its roof, harnessing themselves arsenic champion they could against nan jolts that threatened to propulsion them off.

Ortega would wrap her legs astir Haili and dream nan boys could bent connected arsenic nan godforsaken winds buffeted nan family perched atop nan trucks, and they fought to enactment awake successful lawsuit nan bucking train sounded them to their deaths successful their sleep.

Three months aft leaving Colombia they reached nan separator municipality of Ciudad Juarez and nan family saw their first show of nan US connected nan other slope of nan Rio Grande.

With thing near to bargain nutrient Ortega sold her past possession of value, a achromatic golden ringing that was a family heirloom for $70.

Aguilar meantime booked an assignment pinch a US separator charismatic utilizing nan mobile app for migrants introduced by nan Biden White House successful January past year.

At 3am connected November 10 nan family joined nan statement astatine nan US border, crossing successful nan early hours and having an question and reply soon afterwards pinch separator officials.

Aguilar's criminal grounds was not mentioned and nan family was released connected parole to locomotion into downtown El Paso pinch a tribunal quality earlier an migration judge scheduled for April adjacent year.

But immoderate thoughts that they had reached nan promised onshore quickly dissipated.

Aguilar slept successful nan unfastened connected their first nighttime because their dog, who had miraculously survived nan journey, was not allowed into nan shelter, and Ortega near nan shelter 2 days later aft getting into a conflict pinch chap Venezuelans.

No-one was offering to autobus them to New York and they could not spend hundreds of dollars for nan fare.

By now their traumatized children were re-enacting migration officers chasing migrants while playing pinch their toys.

And Ortega was jealously reasoning astir a Venezuelan friend who had already reached New York, recovered location to unrecorded and started sending money to his family.

'It's not envy, but I want to beryllium complete location already,' she told nan NYT.

'I consciousness stuck here. It hasn't moreover been 72 hours and I've already been hit.'

Meanwhile connection was filtering done to migrant of nan dispute situation they risked if they did make it to New York.

'Things are reliable successful New York pinch nan 100,000 migrants who person arrived there,' section leader Father Rafael García warned them.

Finally their luck changed erstwhile a group of Christian missionaries from Michigan learned astir their story, and raised astir $2,000 to alert them to nan city.

'Papi, nan bath was magical!' Haili told her begetter arsenic they stepped disconnected nan Delta formation to La Guardia Airport connected November 24, nan time aft her sixth birthday.

'Better than riding nan apical of a train,' he told her.

At past nan 3 brave children were capable to spot nan lights of Times Square successful person, visiting Central Park and seeing nan sights of nan metropolis they had dreamed astir for truthful long.

The family headed first for nan repurposed Roosevelt Hotel earlier being assigned abstraction astatine nan monolithic tented Floyd Bennett Field shelter successful Brooklyn, but Aguilar realized that they could not let themselves to enactment successful nan vulnerable environment.

He bought an $800 car and nan family was expecting to walk Christmas successful it earlier a kindness offered them a two-bedroom location successful Middletown, Connecticut.

The children were enrolled astatine a section simple schoolhouse wherever scientist Amy Swan helped nan family raise nan $410 needed for Aguilar to use for a activity permit.

Her hubby Ray gave Aguilar a occupation successful his wood shop astatine $20 an hr building furnishings and room cabinets.

'He useful difficult and doesn't complain,' Swan told nan insubstantial successful March.

'I can't extremity singing his praises.'

Days later nan family's rollercoaster beingness took different lurch erstwhile Ortega discovered she was pregnant.

But nan stresses of their travel had taken a toll connected their narration and she reached for a shot bat during an statement astir their future, swinging it astatine Aguilar and bringing nan constabulary to their apartment.

He was uninjured but she was charged pinch misdemeanor disorderly behaviour and ordered to enactment distant from her partner.

He mislaid his job, and nan family was forced from their location pinch Aguilar seeking refuge successful a shelter for home unit victims pinch his boy and daughter.

A criminal lawsuit is now blighting Ortega's prospects of a early successful nan US arsenic good arsenic Aguilar's but nan mates ignored nan protective bid and decided that their early laic together.

Abandoning Connecticut they piled into Aguilar's $800 Honda and drove 1,700 miles to Houston successful Texas aft nan mother of his 2 children offered them a room successful her flat pinch mattresses connected nan floor. 

Aguilar is now moving arsenic a transportation driver and hoping to get a occupation arsenic a landscaper earlier Ortega gives commencement to their kid later this year.

Most migration cases spell against those pinch criminal records but that seems not to problem nan indomitable family that has been done truthful much.

'I'm happy being pinch my family and making them happy,' Aguilar said.

'All I want is to return my kids to play shot successful a park.'