Panama reports sharp drop in illegal migration through Darien Gap | Migration news

Number of migrants and asylum seekers crossing the country Darien Gap — the treacherous strip of jungle connecting South and North America — has declined by about 41 percent in the past year.

On Thursday, Panama’s right-wing President Jose Raul Mulino announced the drop, hailing it as a success in the country’s efforts to curb illegal migration.

“We have achieved a 41 percent reduction in the flow of migrants through the Darien jungle,” Raúl Mulino said in a speech to the Panamanian Congress.

“We work every day to ensure that illegal migration does not reach (Panama City) or the rest of the country.”

Panama faced pressure to tackle illegal migration in recent years as the number of migrants and asylum seekers traveling north has reached record levels.

In fiscal year 2023, the United States reported 2.48 million “encounters” with migrants and asylum seekers at its southern border with Mexico.

It was a new high-water mark for the United States, and it led to a political backlash over immigration in the country’s 2024 general election.

For example, the newly elected President Donald Trump, who won the 2024 presidential race, “promised to implement.mass deportation” campaign after taking office on January 20.

Likewise, in Panama 2023 It has broken records for migrants and asylum seekers navigating the Darien Gap.

An estimated 520,085 people have crossed through the dangerous jungle known for its steep terrain, rapid rivers and criminal networks.

But in 2024, Panamanian immigration authorities saw a sharp drop in the number of people risking their lives in the jungle. Last year, 302,203 people crossed the Darien Gap.

The US has similarly seen a decline at its southern border. In fiscal year 2024, US Customs and Border Protection documented 2.14 million illegal “encounters” with migrants and asylum seekers, a 14 percent decrease.

November alone was the lowest monthly irregular border crossing in US President Joe Biden’s four years in office.

But the United States has tried to crack down on illegal immigration in recent months. Biden last year implemented strict measures limiting the possibility of shelter To those who cross the US-Mexico border outside of official channels.

Penalties include a five-year ban from the United States and possible criminal prosecution.

Biden also threatened stop asylum applications in general, if the daily average number of irregular border crossings reaches 2,500 per day.

Critics warned these measures could break international and US humanitarian law by limiting asylum seekers’ ability to urgently escape persecution.

But proponents of the new policies argued that they were needed to curb irregular migration.

The US has also pushed its allies in South and Central America to curb illegal migration to the north.

For example, Panama and the United States signed an agreement agreement in July to “close the passage of illegal migrants” through the Darien Gap by offering to fund U.S. deportation flights and other logistics.

About 1,548 migrants and asylum seekers have been turned away by US-backed deportation flights from Panama.

The US has also established “Offices of Safe Mobility” in countries such as Costa Rica, Guatemala and Colombia to deter migrants and asylum seekers from making the dangerous journey across the border.

Mulino announced in December that at least 55 migrants and asylum seekers had died while traveling in the Darien Gap in 2024, and an estimated 180 others had died. children they were abandoned.

Given the inhospitable nature of the terrain, some bodies are never reported or found.

Critics note that efforts to curb illegal migration often overlook the underlying problems that compel migrants and asylum seekers. life-threatening journeys first of all.

Last year, for example, about 69 percent of documented migrants and asylum seekers in the Darien Gap were from Venezuela.

There, human rights experts, especially a there was a struggle for the presidency 2,000 people were reportedly arrested and 23 killed in the post-election protests.

Venezuela has also suffered from economic turmoil, which has provided access to basic supplies such as food and medicine for many residents. About 7.7 million people left the country.