CITY OF PANAMA.- The migratory flow through the Darién Jungle, which reaches Panama to continue its journey until reaching its final destination, the United States, has decreased due to the climate and the decision of the American State to limit the number of asylums per day, reported authorities of the National Immigration Service of Panama.
However, the lower influx could be temporary because “we know that there is overcrowding in Necoclí, Colombia, of people who perhaps wait for the weather conditions to improve to undertake the dangerous journey through the inhospitable jungle to reach Panama,” said the director. of migration Samira Gozaine.
He believes that this is probably the reason why the number of people arriving at Bajo Chiquito, the first checkpoint in Panama, has decreased. “We expected a 20% increase and that was not the case,” said Gozaine.
Operation Controlled Flow of Irregular Migrants from Panama records a transit through the Darien jungle of 194,747 people, from January to June 26, 2024. Of this total, 128,544 are Venezuelans, 13,183 Ecuadorians and 12,506 Colombians, the three nationalities that dominate the map of irregular migration that arrives in Panama to continue on to the United States.
Official Gozaine said that in recent days there have been “many people who have died in the jungle due to the strong flooding of the rivers, people who have drowned” and, although she did not specify figures, she added that citizens camp on the banks of the tributaries and at night suddenly a flood arrives and sweeps away everything in its path.
The director of immigration also attributed the decrease in people to the measures applied by the United States to control the number of asylum requests per day, which according to her could also have had an impact on the people who try to reach the southern border of the United States and now find themselves with these new immigration rules. In addition, she highlighted that within the jurisdiction of the official entity that she presides, fewer incidents of robberies are reported in the immigrant control centers, thanks to the controlled flow operations.
Migration crisis
The migration crisis continues to be a worrying issue due to the human impact it represents. It is estimated that this year more than 800,000 people of different nationalities walking north will cross through Darién. This was estimated by Laura Flores Herrera, director of the Americas of the Department of Political Affairs of the United Nations.
Flores said that Darien has been the most forgotten province in the country and the least populated today. It is now on the world map due to a humanitarian crisis that, despite the circumstances, reveals Panama’s tradition as a transit country.
“We have gone from less than 1,000 people in 2014 to more than 520,000 in 2023 and if the trend continues, it is estimated that this year 800,000 souls will cross the Darién,” he warned, noting that this situation is changing the narrative of a country defined as a country. welcoming and welcoming with many ethnicities, religions and nationalities.
Flores concluded by highlighting how shocked she feels by the large number of boys and girls crossing the jungle on their way north. According to UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), in the first four months of this year alone, 30,000 children passed through Darién, a 40% increase over 2023 and a number that grows five times more than the transit of adults.
Source: PANAMA MIGRATION / THE PANAMA PRESS / DIARIO LAS AMÉRICAS EDITORIAL
