In the first half of this year, the Darien jungle, the natural border between Panama and Colombia, witnessed an alarming increase in the number of irregular migrants crossing it. According to official Panamanian data, a total of 196,370 people have crossed this inhospitable region, a figure almost quadrupled compared to the same period last year, which registered 49,452 migrants.
The month of April stood out as the one with the highest migratory flow, with an astonishing number of 40,297 people, which represents an increase of 6.5 times compared to April 2022, when 6,134 migrants were registered.
Between January and June of this year, 51% of the travelers who crossed the Darién jungle were Venezuelans, reaching a total of 100,514 people. They were followed by Haitians (33,074), Ecuadorians (25,105), citizens of 23 African countries (6,420), Chileans (4,964) and Colombians (3,579).
It should be noted that this increase in the migratory flow occurs in a context in which the United States imposed new immigration restrictions, ending Title 42 and applying Title 8 instead. These measures, added to others that restrict access to asylum on the southern border with Mexico, has led many migrants to seek alternative routes and face greater dangers on their journey through the Darién jungle.
Faced with this situation, Panama established migratory stations near its southern border with Colombia and on the northern border with Costa Rica, where a dozen international organizations participate. There, health care and food are offered to irregular migrants. At the end of June there were 4,767 migrants spread across these border facilities, according to official data.
El Darién is a 575,000-hectare national park in Panama. Those who have crossed the inhospitable jungle state that it is extremely dangerous, since death, assaults, suicides and rapes surround travelers. In addition to the dangers of the wilderness, migrants also face criminal groups operating in the area.
Entire families are crossing the jungle. Unicef warned that between January and April, more than 25,000 minors crossed this jungle, 8 times more than in the same period of 2022, which represents a record number.
This unprecedented migratory flow in the American continent is motivated by the flight of thousands of people due to economic and political crises, violence, and the effects of climate change in their places of origin. International experts have pointed out that people smuggling has become the most lucrative illegal business today, which further aggravates the vulnerability of migrants.
Panamanian authorities and international organizations continue to face this humanitarian challenge, providing support to migrants and working to find long-term solutions to address the underlying causes of this migration crisis.