About 120,000 minors crossed the inhospitable Darién jungle, on the border between Colombia and Panama, as part of a record 520,085 undocumented migrants who sought to reach the United States in 2023, the Panamanian government reported on Monday.
“2023 closed with 520,085 migrants who crossed the Darién jungle, of these 120,000 were minors,” Panama’s Ministry of Public Security said on its X social network account.
It takes migrants between three and six days to cross the natural border between Colombia and Panama, 266 km long and 575,000 hectares in area, where they face natural dangers, but also criminal gangs. In November, the organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it had treated more than 400 cases of migrants who were victims of sexual assault, 97% women, some of them girls.
According to data from the Ministry of Security, Venezuelans lead the list of nationalities most recurrent among migrants crossing the dangerous jungle, with 328,667, followed by 57,222 Ecuadorians, 46,558 Haitians and 25,344 Chinese.
There are also Vietnamese, Afghans and people from African countries. There are people of all ages, even babies a few weeks old, according to reports. The situation has forced the Panamanian government, along with international organizations, to set up migrant care centers at different points in the country.
This jungle has become a corridor for migrants who, from South America, try to reach the United States through Central America and Mexico.
The record of 520,085 migrants exceeds by more than 109% the 2022 figure when 248,000 people passed through the Darién, according to Panamanian official data.
In order to try to contain this wave of migration, on September 9 the Panamanian authorities announced a series of measures, such as increasing deportations of those people who enter the country irregularly.
After crossing the jungle, the thousands of migrants cross Panama heading to the border with Costa Rica and then continue on to Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico, until reaching the border with the United States.
