The figures were released by the Minister of Security of the Isthmus nation, Juan Manuel Pino. The forecast is based on the fact that the total number of irregular migrants who transited through the area last year has already been reached in the first half of 2023. Since 2019, the number of people who cross through the Colombian-Panamanian jungle has experienced a significant rise.
First modification:
2 min
A significant increase in illegal migration in Central America. This statement is supported by the data that the Panamanian authorities released this Saturday. In this month of July the “historical record” of 248,000 irregular crossings through the Darién jungle will be reached, the total for the entire year 2022.
So far in 2023, some 230,000 people have been counted, at a rate of more than a thousand people per day, according to Panama’s Security Minister Juan Manuel Pino. Some 400,000 people were previously expected to cross the Darién, a dangerous forested area located between Colombia and Panama.
? Darien | The Minister of Public Security Juan M. Pino and directors of the security groups, made a tour of various points in the province, in order to observe the migratory flow, as well as the operational aspects in terms of security. #SafeMigration?? pic.twitter.com/EHLy7o7mrg
— Ministry of Public Security of Panama (@MinSegPma) July 22, 2023
This is traveled daily by hundreds of people who migrate to the United States in search of better living conditions. Since 2019, a significant increase in the passage of irregular migrants has been reported. That year some 22,102 people traveled, while in 2020 there was a clear decrease due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2021, the crossing of 133,726 people was recorded. In a similar period so far this 2023, some 49,452 migrants were encrypted in 2022, according to data provided by Minister Pino.
Venezuelan migrants told the reason why they risk their lives for the Darien jungle. So far this year, more than 230,000 migrants have passed through Panama, in 2022 248,283 people entered. pic.twitter.com/XqmQwiys6e
— Ministry of Public Security of Panama (@MinSegPma) July 22, 2023
So far this year, some 40,000 children have crossed the jungle. Some are lost and others are found with the lifeless bodies of their parents. In this sense, the security conditions in that area are not the most optimal for transiting through it. Criminal gangs, added to armed groups that operate in the area, are responsible for a significant number of people being robbed, raped or assaulted.
Faced with this situation, the Government of Panama does not remain with its arms crossed. Since last April some 23 human traffickers have been arrested. The so-called ‘coyotes’ were in charge of transporting or guiding people through the jungle, according to reports by the EFE news agency.
Organized in “Operation Shield”, the security forces have seized some 1,852 packages of drugs that were tried to pass through the Darién, 964 of marijuana and 888 of cocaine. On the other hand, in a period from April 1 to July 19, some 433 people have been arrested.
Among them, 239 for having pending accounts with the Panamanian justice system. Another 26 for drug trafficking and 66 for micro-trafficking, while 43 were arrested for carrying firearms.
with EFE
