Panama: 55 migrants died, 180 children abandoned in Darien Gap this year
Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said Thursday that so far this year, 55 migrants have died and 180 children have been abandoned while crossing the Darien jungle. “Fifty-five people have died in 2024 on the Darien route,” Mulino said during his weekly press conference. However, authorities suspect that the death toll may be higher, as many bodies cannot be recovered from the jungle. Mulino also said that the “180 unaccompanied minors” who had been abandoned in the Panamanian jungle this year are now being looked after by childcare institutions. On Tuesday, the government of Panama announced that the flow of migrants through Darien fell by almost 41% this year. Between January and December, 300,549 migrants crossed the treacherous jungle compared to more than 520,000 in the same period of 2023. The director of the National Migration Service of Panama, Roger Tejada, explained that the reduction is due to the implementation of stricter measures by the new government. President Mulino has taken a strong stance against the flow of migrants through the Darien Gap. His administration has implemented several strategies to deter migration through the dangerous route, including increasing patrol agents along the border with Colombia to monitor and control the area as well as the closure of unauthorized routes. The government has also initiated a policy of deporting migrants who are arrested crossing the jungle illegally. Authorities said that within the framework of an agreement signed with the United States, 51 flights have been made to return 1,548 migrants to countries such as Colombia and Ecuador. Tejada indicated that they expect to increase these returns in 2025, depending on the policies implemented by the government of US President Donald Trump starting in January. According to official figures, Venezuelans accounted for 70% of all those who crossed. Other nationalities included Colombians (6%), Ecuadorians (5%), Chinese (4%) and Haitians (4%). Migrants who cross the remote and dangerous area of dense rainforest, swamps, rivers and mountains on the border of Colombia and Panama face dangers such as wild animals and multiple human rights violations, including sexual violence, murders, disappearances, trafficking and robbery by organized criminal groups.
Panama: 55 migrants died, 180 children abandoned in Darien Gap this year Read More »
