The amount of migrants and asylum seekers crossing the Darien Gap, the dangerous jungle strip connecting South and North America, has decreased by almost 41% over the past year.
Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino, who leans towards the right politically, declared this reduction as a success in the country’s efforts to control irregular migration.
Raul Mulino stated to Panama’s Congress, “We have managed to reduce by 41% the flow of migrants going through the Darien jungle. We are working diligently every day to prevent illegal migration from reaching Panama City and the rest of the country.”
Pressure was put on Panama to address irregular migration in recent years as the number of migrants and asylum seekers heading north reached record levels.
In 2023, the United States reported 2.48 million encounters with migrants and asylum seekers at its southern border with Mexico.
This was a new high for the US and caused a political reaction, with immigration playing a prominent role in the 2024 general elections.
For example, President-elect Donald Trump, who won the 2024 presidential race, promised to carry out a “mass deportation” campaign starting on January 20th.
In 2023, Panama also saw record numbers of migrants and asylum seekers navigating the Darien Gap.
An estimated 520,085 individuals passed through the perilous jungle known for its challenging terrain, fast rivers, and criminal networks.
However, in 2024, immigration authorities in Panama witnessed a significant drop in the number of people risking their lives in the jungle, with only 302,203 crossing the Darien Gap last year.
In 2024, the US also experienced declining numbers at its southern border, with US Customs and Border Protection recording 2.14 million irregular encounters with migrants and asylum seekers, down by 14%.
The month of November alone saw the lowest monthly total of irregular border crossings during President Joe Biden’s four-year term.
Efforts to curb irregular migration have been made by the US, including measures to limit asylum access for those crossing the US-Mexico border outside of official channels.
Critics have raised concerns that these measures may violate international and US humanitarian law by restricting the ability of asylum seekers to escape persecution urgently.
Supporters of the new policies argue that they are essential to control irregular migration.
The US has also encouraged its allies in South and Central America to restrict irregular migration northwards, with Panama and the US signing an agreement in July to prevent illegal migrants from passing through the Darien Gap.
The US agreed to finance deportation flights and other logistics as part of the agreement, resulting in 1,548 migrants and asylum seekers being repatriated on US-backed deportation flights from Panama.
“Safe Mobility Offices” were set up by the US in countries like Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Colombia to discourage potential migrants and asylum seekers from embarking on the dangerous journey to the border.
In December, Mulino disclosed that in 2024, at least 55 migrants and asylum seekers died while crossing the Darien Gap, and around 180 children were abandoned.
Due to the harsh conditions of the terrain, some bodies are never discovered or reported.
Critics argue that efforts to stop irregular migration often ignore the root causes that drive migrants and asylum seekers to undertake life-threatening journeys in the first place.
For example, in the past year, approximately 69% of the migrants and asylum seekers in the Darien Gap were from Venezuela, where human rights experts have warned of governmental abuses, especially following a contested presidential election that led to arrests and casualties.
Venezuela has also been grappling with economic turmoil, making access to essential supplies like food and medicine unattainable for many citizens, leading to 7.7 million people fleeing the country.
