Panama announces closure of three access points in the Darien Gap to control the flow of migrants. What is known?

PAnamá closed at least three of the steps that migrants use to cross the Darien, which marks the border with Colombia, with a “perimeter barrier”with the aim of “channeling” its flow and exercising greater control over this irregular route used by hundreds of people daily on their way to North America, Panamanian authorities reported on Wednesday.

The National Border Service (Senafront) of Panama stated in a statement to which EFE had access that “measures were taken to control the massive irregular migration that the Panamanian State faces” in order to “channel irregular migration” until Bajo Chiquito, the first town that migrants reach after crossing the Darien jungle on foot for days.

The border police also announced that the new government of José Raúl Mulino “is planning to launch a new campaign called ‘Darién’, which aims to guarantee a climate of peace and tranquility in this region of the country.”

These measures, he explained, are based on blocking “three unauthorized crossings used by irregular migrants, which are identified as the crossings along the Pacific coast and the Caribbean coast (…), as well as the land crossings that provide access to the Hito de Chucurti sector, the latter of which was blocked with perimeter barriers that prevent the passage of migrants.”

According to Senafront, “with the previous control, security forces were deployed at multiple points, which dispersed the efficiency in the fight against transnational criminal organizations that benefit from human trafficking, illegal payments and other crimes related to this vulnerable population.”

Now, “by concentrating efforts in a single step, the provision of territorial control patrols, protection and multidimensional security related to migrants is exponentially strengthened.”

Until now, many migrants used to report being victims of robbery or rape by criminal gangs throughout the Darien.

The border police also announced that the new government of José Raúl Mulino “is planning to launch a new campaign called ‘Darién’, which aims to guarantee a climate of peace and tranquility in this region of the country.”

Panama’s new president, José Raúl Mulino, announced last Friday, during a tour of Darién prior to his inauguration, the placement of “cone fences” “with the aim of getting people to take the only route to get here, not scattered,” in addition to the presence of police in some areas of the jungle.

The closure of these unauthorized crossings or trails occurs in the midst of a large flow of migrants through the Darien jungle, through which more than 195,000 people have crossed this year, most of them Venezuelans, while in 2023 there were more than 520,000, an unprecedented figure, according to official data.

Mulino also referred to the problems in Darien during his inaugural speech last Monday, the day in which Panama and the United States, the main destination for migrants, signed an agreement to repatriate the migrants, for which the North American country promised to cover the expenses.

The new Panamanian president has a strong discourse regarding migration through Darién, calling it “illegal” and had already promised during his campaign to “close” Darién, something that he later qualified as a “philosophical” concept of closure, in which more and more barriers are put in place to prevent migrants from following that route.

“Panama will no longer be a transit country for illegal immigrants. I will not allow local complicity,” he declared in his inaugural address.

Colombia and Panama discussed migration

The new president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, and his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, On Monday, they discussed the migration crisis in Darién, the border jungle between the two countries used daily by hundreds of passers-by on their way to North America.

The meeting between the two presidents took place shortly before Mulino’s inauguration as president of the Central American country, the press team of the incoming government reported.

Petro said that if Venezuelan migration is stopped, the problem would be minimal, according to official information.

“My two neighbouring countries are vital, no matter what happens. There is no problem that a good friendship cannot solve,” said Mulino, who insisted that his country has always had a close relationship with Colombia, so his government will be open to strengthening integration.

Both leaders agreed to schedule a meeting with the United States to review the issue of illegal migration.

According to a press release issued by the Colombian Foreign Ministry on Monday, migration is a “challenge that both countries face, especially in Darien,” and a roadmap was agreed upon that involves, first of all, “generating good conditions in Darien” and working on a binational plan.