A Panamanian judge ordered that 45 migrants arrested after a fight that led to the burning of a shelter in the Darién jungle continue to be held in prison as their case moves forward, the judiciary reported on Tuesday.
The incidents occurred early Saturday morning at a migrant shelter, where an argument between two women escalated into a group brawl and clashes with border police, with no reported victims. Those detained are 38 Venezuelans, six Colombians and one Ecuadorian.
Judge Carlos Justiniani “applied the personal precautionary measure of provisional detention” to the 45 migrants for “crimes against collective security” and “against economic assets,” said the judiciary in a statement.
For its part, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) expressed concern on Tuesday over these incidents, which it attributed to the “stress” of migrants after crossing the inhospitable Darién jungle on the border between Colombia and Panama on their way to the United States.
In addition, the UN agency warned that the situation could repeat itself due to the record number of migrants arriving in vulnerable conditions at these shelters after traversing a jungle where, in addition to natural risks, gangs assault and rape travelers.
“We are very dismayed and concerned” by what happened, Diana Romero, Unicef’s child protection specialist in emergencies in Panama, said.
According to official information, a dozen light structures and some vehicles were set on fire at the shelter in San Vicente, near the town of Metetí, 180 km east of the Panamanian capital.
In these shelters opened by the Panamanian government there is also staff from international organizations and NGOs to provide basic services to migrants. “We know stress levels were very high and could be one of the triggers that led to this violent situation,” Romero said.
Panama’s Security Minister Juan Pino indicated on Monday that migrants convicted of these incidents will be deported, which Unicef considers generates “uncertainty.”
“What we have identified is that there are pregnant [women] and babies, children and obviously other relatives who were coming with them [the detainees], so a stage of great uncertainty and concern begins for these families,” said the Unicef official.
In the first two months of this year, more than 72,000 people, one-fifth of whom are children, crossed the Darién, a number that exceeds the 50,000 in the same period last year. Almost two-thirds are Venezuelans, followed by Haitians, Ecuadorians, Colombians and Chinese, according to official data.
