On Friday, July 21, 2023, Panamanian authorities announced that the number of migrants en route to the United States crossing the inhospitable Darien jungle on the border with Colombia in July is set to break all-year 2022 records despite the enormous dangers, a corridor for migration trying to reach the United States via Central America.

"Today we add 227,000 migrants who have passed through our territory, this month (July) we will exceed the historical date of the year 2022, when there were 248,000 migrants (Source Stat. National of Panama)" who passed through the Darién, said Juan Manuel Pino Panamanian Minister of Security adding "[...] at this rate, the number of migrants who will have passed through the Darien is estimated at 400,000. Darien in 2023 [...]"

According to official data, as of June 30, 2023, more than 100,000 Venezuelans have crossed the Darien this year; nearly 33,000 Haitians; more than 25,000 Ecuadorians and more than 8,500 Chinese among others. 20% of these migrants were minors.

Lety's recall that the Darien jungle, one of the most dangerous regions in Latin America, 266 km long and with an area of about 8,000 km2, in addition to dangers such as wild animals and other poisonous species and dangerous rivers, migrants face criminal organizations that rob them or demand payment to guide or protect them on their journey.

Authorities in Panama suspect that the smuggling of migrants through the Darién is managed by the "Clan del Golfo", a Colombian drug cartel. Clashes between armed gangs seeking to extort migrants and the police are not uncommon...

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39210-haiti-flash-explosion-of-the-number-of-haitians-crossing-the-hell-of-the-darien-jungle.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-38953-haiti-flash-panama-suspends-the-transport-of-migrants-by-bus-to-the-north.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-38519-icihaiti-migration-22-400-haitians-entered-panama-illegally-in-2022.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36681-haiti-flash-from-brazil-to-the-american-border-costs-and-difficulties-of-the-journey-for-haitian-migrants-map.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34962-haiti-flash-56-600-haitians-this-year-crossed-the-dangerous-jungle-of-darien-colombia.html

S/ HaitiLibre