Q24N — Panama closed at least three of the steps used by migrants to cross the Darién, which marks the border with Colombia, with a “perimeter barrier”, with the aim of “channeling” their flow to exercise greater control over this irregular route that hundreds of people use them daily on their way to North America, Panamanian authorities reported this Wednesday.
The National Border Service (Senafront) of Panama indicated in a statement that “measures were taken to control the massive irregular migration faced by the Panamanian State” in order to “channel irregular migration” to Bajo Chiquito, the first town that migrants arrive at after crossing the Darién jungle on foot for days.
These measures, it explained, are based on blocking “three unauthorized crossings used by irregular migrants, which are identified as the crossings along the Pacific coast and the Caribbean coast (…), as well as the land crossings that give access to the Hito de Chucurti, the latter was blocked with perimeter barriers that prevent the passage of migrants.
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“With the previous control, security forces were available at multiple points, which dispersed efficiency in the fight against transnational criminal organizations that benefit from human trafficking, illicit collections and other crimes related to this population. vulnerable.
“Now, by concentrating efforts in a single step, the provision of territorial control, protection and multidimensional security patrols related to migrants is exponentially strengthened,” said the Panamanian border service.
Until now, many migrants used to report being victims of robbery or rape by criminal gangs along the Darien.
In addition, the border police announced that the new Government of José Raúl Mulino “is planning the launch of a new campaign called ‘Darién’ that aims to guarantee a climate of peace and tranquility in this region of the country.”
The new president already announced last Friday, during a tour to Darién prior to his inauguration on Monday, July 1, the placement of “serpentine fences” with “the hope that people take the only path to get here not disseminated”, in addition to the police presence in some areas of that jungle.
The closure of these unauthorized passes or trails occurs in the midst of a large flow of migrants through the Darién jungle, through which more than 195,000 people have crossed this year, most of them Venezuelans, while in 2023 there were more than 520,000, an unprecedented figure, according to official data.
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Mulino also referred to the problem in Darién during his investiture speech on Monday, the day on which Panama and the United States, the main destination for migrants, signed an agreement to repatriate transients, to which the U.S. committed to cover the expenses.
The new Panamanian president maintained a strong speech regarding migration through the Darién, calling it “illegal” and already during the campaign he had promised the “closure” of the Darién, something that he later qualified as a concept of “philosophical” closure, in which they are putting up more and more barriers so that migrants do not follow that route.
“Panama will no longer be a transit country for illegals. I will not allow local complicity,” Mulino declared in his inauguration speech.
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