Irregular crossings through the Darién jungle, between Panama and Colombia, have a new record: 127,687 people between January and April 2023.
A ‘chilinguero’ or guide leads people through the Darien Strait, September 2022.
In the first four months of this year, more than 127,000 irregular migrants traveling to the United States arrived in Panama after crossing the Darien jungle, the dangerous border with Colombia.
The figure is six times more than in the same period of 2022, according to official figures.
Panama obtains this data through the biometric information of these travelers and offers them health care and food, in stations located both in the Darién jungle and in Chiriquí (Costa Rica).
Among the 127,687 people in mobility to the Darién, the Venezuelan nationality is the most numerous with 55,589.
They are followed by Haitians (28,610), and then Ecuadorians with 16,992, according to statistics from the National Migration Service (SNM) of Panama.
April was the month with the most arrivals so far this year, with 40,297, well above January, February and March, respectively.
Of the people who arrived at the Darién immigration stations on April 30, 21% were minors.
Given the growing number of migrants through the Darién, the UN Refugee Agency (Acnur) launched the “Trust in El Tucán” project on Facebook and TikTok.
With the strategy, he intends to combat false information about the Darien jungle and its use as an irregular migratory route.
