El nuevo presidente de Panamá implementa medidas en el Darién para controlar la migración

The new president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, has already announced the placement of “serpentine fences” in the Darién region, with the aim of directing people to take a single path instead of spreading out. This decision was made during a pre-inauguration tour last Friday, along with the presence of police in certain areas of the jungle.

Panama has closed at least three of the routes used by migrants to cross the Darién, which marks the border with Colombia, with a “perimeter barrier” to channel the flow and exercise greater control over this irregular route used by hundreds of people daily on their way to North America, as reported by Panamanian authorities on Wednesday.

The National Border Service (Senafront) stated that measures were taken to control the massive irregular migration faced by the Panamanian state, in order to channel it to Bajo Chiquito, the first village migrants reach after days of trekking through the Darién jungle on foot.

These measures include blocking three unauthorized routes used by irregular migrants, identified as the routes along the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, as well as the land routes leading to the Chucurti milestone sector, the latter being blocked with perimeter barriers to prevent migrant passage.

According to Senafront, the previous control involved security forces at multiple points, which dispersed the efficiency in combating transnational criminal organizations benefiting from human trafficking, illicit charges, and other related crimes against this vulnerable population.

Minister of Security Frank Ábrego stated to local newspaper El Siglo that the migratory phenomenon in Panama is part of a criminal network that starts in Colombia with total control by the Gulf Cartel, generating around $100 million in profits for the criminal group.

Many migrants have reported being victims of robbery or assault by criminal gangs along the Darién.

This year alone, over 195,000 migrants have crossed the Darién, most of them Venezuelans, compared to over 520,000 in 2023, according to official data. President Mulino has already mentioned the issue in Darién during his inauguration speech, where Panama and the United States signed an agreement to repatriate migrants, with the US covering the expenses.

The decision to close unauthorized routes in the midst of a significant migrant flow through the Darién reflects the government’s efforts to address the challenges posed by irregular migration and criminal activities in the region.