A total of 187,644 migrants have passed through Panama on their way to the US so far in 2022, reported the Minister of Public Security of that country, Juan Manuel Pino, who added that only in October they registered the passage through the country of 36,062 people, mostly from Venezuela.
“During our work tour we talked with migrants, mostly Venezuelans, who told us that, after the announcement by the United States, many of them made the decision to return to their country, however, others continue the journey,” he explained in a statement from the Panamanian minister, referring to the new norm applied by Washington to regulate the entry of Venezuelan nationals.
Pino made a tour last week of points used by migrants to cross the country, including the dangerous jungle of Darien, located between Panama and Colombia, through which thousands of migrants transit on their way to the US. There she spoke with travelers, among them “women accompanied by little boys and girls, even in their arms.”
Forecasts from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) indicate that at least 200,000 irregular travelers will have crossed the Darién Gap border crossing by the end of 2022. According to the IOM, crossings through that site had already exceeded the record in September of 133,726 registered in 2021, when the number of migrants who passed through the dreaded jungle in the entire previous decade was equaled.
Panama has located Migratory Reception Stations on the border with Colombia and Costa Rica to receive irregular travelers, who provide food, medical assistance and take their biometric data to have greater control of the transfer.
The Panamanian Minister of Public Security announced that they have scheduled a dialogue with Bogotá and San José “to reach an agreement regarding the migratory situation in the region.”
According to official figures, more than 9,000 migrants are in Panamanian shelters. The government of the Central American country reported that it will enable conditions to welcome more than 300 migrant families.
Panamanian authorities have also tightened security in the Darien jungle, where they have detained 78 coyotes and rescued 688 migrants.
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