Panamanian authorities have found 22 Vietnamese irregular migrants in a truck that they checked near the border with Costa Rica, according to the National Border Service (Senafront).
It is not common to find people of these nationalities in this migratory corridor that crosses Central America and reaches the United States. This same week, in southern Mexico, 15 Vietnamese who were also seeking to reach the United States were freed.
This time the Vietnamese nationals, 15 men and 7 women, have been found inside a truck articulated vehicle whose driver, a 34-year-old Panamanian citizen, was apprehended, according to Senafront deputy commissioner, Juan Forero.
“These victims (the 22 Vietnamese migrants) were placed under the orders of the competent authorities,” while the driver was handed over to the Public Ministry (MP, Prosecutor’s Office) and could be accused of human trafficking, the official added.
The migratory flow through the Darién junglethe natural border between Panama and Colombia, has experienced this year a drop of 41%totaling 300,549 people as of this Tuesday compared to the accumulated figure for the date in 2023, said the director of the National Migration Service (SNM), Roger Mojica.
In 2023, the record number of more than 520,000 people who crossed the jungle was recorded, the vast majority Venezuelans, although in this flow there are people from more than 50 countries.
Migrants enter Panama through the border with Colombia and they leave for neighboring Costa Rica on their journey to North America, mainly the United States.
According to official data cited this Wednesday by the Panamanian newspaper La Prensa, between January and November, 3,081 Vietnamese migrants arrived in Panama after crossing the jungle.
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