Thread: Migrants crossing perilous Darien Gap in record numbers: Panama

Migrants crossing perilous Darien Gap in record numbers: Panama



Story by AFP • Yesterday 3:09 PM

July 31, 2023








The dense jungle area between Panama and Colombia, known as the Darien Gap, is a treacherous route for migrants from South America headed north to the United States© Raul ARBOLEDA


Panama announced on Monday that more migrants have crossed the Darien Gap, the hazardous jungle area separating Central and South America, so far this year than in all of 2022.

Despite its dangers, the 165-mile (265-kilometer) Darien Gap along the Panama-Colombia border has become a key corridor for migrants heading from South America to the United States.

As of Sunday, 248,901 migrants have walked through the treacherous route, Maria Isabel Saravia, Panama's deputy director of migration, told a news conference.

That figure exceeds last year's total by more than 600 people and is approaching double the total of 133,000 in 2021.

Panama Public Security Minister Juan Manuel Pino warned that the number passing through the Darien Gap could reach 400,000 by the end of the year.


Related video: US-Mexico border: Migrants risk death crossing treacherous Rio Grande River | World News | WION (WION)


Along the journey are wild animals, rivers and criminal gangs who rob migrants or demand money to guide them through the jungle.

Panamanian authorities do not know the exact number of migrants who die in the dense jungle area, with many deaths unreported.

Just over a fifth of the migrants recorded so far this year are children and adolescents, half of whom are five years old or younger, Saravia said.

More than 100,000 of the migrants were Venezuelans.

Also passing through the route were roughly 33,000 Haitians, 25,000 Ecuadorans and 8,500 people from China.

The United States warned months ago that it would not allow access to anyone who crossed into Panama without proper authorization.



https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...3be045a7&ei=75

Migration through Panama's perilous Darien Gap hits all-time high

FILE PHOTO: For migrants, the Darien Gap is hell; for adventure tourists, it's a magnet

18




Elida Moreno
Mon, July 31, 2023 at 8:47 PM EDT



By Elida Moreno


PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - The number of people crossing the treacherous Darien Gap linking Panama and Colombia hit an all-time high in the first seven months of the year, figures released on Monday showed, with July seeing a sharp jump despite recent efforts to curb the trend.

Official data showed 248,901 people walked through the jungle area between January and July, already surpassing the record of 248,284 recorded for the whole of 2022, with most aiming to reach the United States, according to data from Panama's Security Ministry.

Entries to Panama from Colombia through the jungle region have continued to rise despite a two-month program launched in April by the United States, Panama and Colombia to tackle undocumented immigration.

July recorded the most crossings, with 52,530 people taking part in the dangerous journey, up 77% from June, mostly from Venezuela, Haiti and Ecuador, according to the data.

The flow of migrants has skyrocketed from previous years, despite the start of the rainy season, Panama's Security Minister Juan Pino said earlier this month.

Some 20% of the people who have crossed the jungle this year are minors, 51% of whom are under five years old, migration official Maria Saravia said at a press conference where the new figures were presented.

The United Nations forecast in April the total number of crossings would surpass 400,000 this year, with the organization warning that migrants crossing through the jungle are exposed to disease, violence, sexual abuse and human trafficking.
(Reporting by Elida Moreno; Writing by Valentine Hilaire; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)


https://www.yahoo.com/news/migration...004756608.html