PANAMA CITY (AP) — Migration through the Darien Gap that separates Colombia and Panama has slowed significantly this month since the Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino took office and ordered authorities to regain control of the dense jungle border, the country’s border police said on Wednesday.
Still, migration through the Darien is still close to the record year of 2023, when more than 500,000 migrants – more than half of them Venezuelans – made the perilous journey.
The National Border Service reported on Wednesday that 11,363 migrants have crossed the border since July 1, about 9,000 fewer than in the same period last year.
The agency’s director general, Jorge Gobea, attributed the reduction to the installation of about 5 kilometers of barbed wire on five paths in an attempt to direct migrants into a “humanitarian corridor.”
He also said the government’s announcement of more aggressive measures and plans to send migrants back to their countries, as well as heavy rainfall, could have had an impact on the number of border crossers.
Mulino came into office with a promise to stop illegal migration through the Darien Gap. The US government has agreed to pay for deportation flights for the migrants who have been declared inadmissible, but those flights have not yet started.
So far this year, more than 212,000 migrants have entered Panama through the Darien. In addition to Venezuelans, migrants from Ecuador, Colombia and China have also crossed the border.
Panama’s active efforts to stop and deport migrants would be a huge change.
Under the outgoing administration, Panama had tried to help migrants cross the country quickly and orderly. Migrants generally emerged from the jungle, registered with authorities, and were dragged across the country to the border with Costa Rica.
Bolstering enforcement efforts in Panama could potentially reduce the number of migrants reaching the U.S. border, at least for a time until new routes are established. But it could also force migrants to use riskier routes and be a boon to smugglers.
