No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeTopicsLatin AmericaUN warns of worrying rise in migrants crossing Darien Gap

UN warns of worrying rise in migrants crossing Darien Gap

UN agencies on Thursday warned of a “worrying” spike in migrants crossing the dangerous Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia, saying already this year more than 100,000 had made the journey.

The Darien jungle has become a corridor for migrants trying to reach the United States, despite being fraught with dangers such as raging rivers, wild animals and criminal gangs.

“The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) warn of the worrying increase of people crossing the Darien jungle,” the two said in a joint statement.

“A record number of more than 100,000 people have crossed the Darien, six times more than those who arrived in the same period in 2022,” they added.

In 2022, an already record number of nearly 250,000 migrants crossed the Darien. The majority were Venezuelans, Haitians and Ecuadorans, although Asians, mainly from China and India, and Africans, mainly from Cameroon and Somalia, also made the journey.

“Panama is facing one of the most challenging crises of mixed movements in the last decade, as part of an unprecedented displacement across the Americas,” the agencies warned.

“The dangers and levels of violence faced by people crossing the Darien are highly worrying,” said Philippa Candler, the UNHCR representative in Panama in the statement.

This week, US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas met in Panama with the foreign ministers of Panama and Colombia to seek solutions to the migration crisis.

Trending Now

Life After MS-13 in El Salvador as Residents Seek a Fragile Peace

Esperanza Martinez lost three relatives who were murdered and saw numerous bodies left in the streets of her neighborhood, a former stronghold of the...

Costa Rica’s Pride 2025 Closing Event Bans Minors, Sparks Outrage

Costa Rica’s Pride 2025 closing event, set for June 29 at San José’s Plaza de la Democracia, was thrown into controversy when the government...

Hondurans March to Mark 2009 Coup as Election Battle Heats Up

Thousands of government supporters marched Saturday in the capital of Honduras to commemorate the anniversary of the 2009 coup that ousted then-leftist President Manuel...

Retired Nicaraguan Army Captain Sentenced to 50 Years for Treason

A retired military officer was sentenced to 50 years in prison in Nicaragua for the crime of "treason against the homeland," his family denounced...

U.S. – Guatemala Security Pact Targets Crime and Helps Returning Migrants

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem signed a border security cooperation agreement with Guatemala on Thursday, which includes the use of drones and...

An Expat’s Take: 5 Burning Questions About Life in Costa Rica Right Now

Have you been keeping up with the various events taking place in Costa Rica? There is always something interesting going down, and here are...
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica