Photo credit: Aljazeera
The number of migrants and asylum seekers crossing the Darien Gap has fallen by nearly 41 per cent in the last year.
Al Jazeera reports that Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino announced the decline, calling it a success for the country’s efforts to limit irregular migration.
Darien Gap is the treacherous strip of jungle connecting South and North America.
“We have achieved a 41 percent reduction in the flow of migrants crossing the Darien jungle,” Raul Mulino told Panama’s Congress in a speech.
Panama faced pressure to crack down on irregular migrants in recent years, as the number of migrants and asylum seekers travelling north hit record highs.
In 2023, Panama broke records for migrants and asylum seekers navigating the Darien Gap. An estimated 520,085 passed through the jungle. The perilous jungle is known for its steep terrain, swift rivers and criminal networks.
However, Panama’s immigration authorities saw a deep drop in the number of people risking their lives in the jungle in 2024. Some 302,203 crossed the Darien Gap last year.
