Government records show migration through Darien Gap increased in September

PANAMA CITY, Panama (AP) — The number of migrants crossing the city Darien Gap – a rugged jungle passage between Colombia and Panama – increased sharply in September, according to the Panamanian government, and a human rights organization says there is less capacity to support migrants.

Venezuelans have been at the forefront of mass migration through the Darien since 2022, accounting for much of the increase since that country’s most recent migration controversial presidential election.

“The crackdown following the July 28, 2024 elections in Venezuela has led to an increase in immigration,” Refugees International said in a report released Friday. The report was based on dozens of interviews with migrants at reception centers in Panama and Costa Rica.

More than half a million migrants, a record number, crossed the Darien in 2023. More than 65% of them were Venezuelans. Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, who took office on July 1, promised to curb migration by closing several entry points.

He also said he would implement a repatriation program with help from the United States that has so far added flights to Colombia, Ecuador and India. The US government agreed to pay for the deportation flights for those migrants who are considered inadmissible.

The plan has not been applied to Venezuelan migrants because Panama, like neighboring Costa Rica, has suspended its relations with Caracas after refusing to recognize the country Election victory of Nicolás Maduro. Flights between the two nations are paralyzed.

According to the Panamanian Ministry of Security, the number of migrants who crossed the Darien this year was 277,939 as of October 7, or 36% less than the same period in 2023. However, the same data showed a sharp increase in September compared to August.

Records show 25,111 migrants crossed the border last month, 51% more than in August, with more than 80% of them being Venezuelans. The numbers also included Colombians, Ecuadorians, Chinese and dozens of other nationalities.

“The (migration) policies and rhetoric of the Panamanian government could have temporarily discouraged migration, but not in the long term,” the organization said.

“When they leave Darien, migrants in Panama receive less humanitarian assistance,” the report said. “Those who are not Venezuelans are at risk of deportation.”

Refugees International said this was partly due to the suspension of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) by the previous Panamanian government in early March. The organization provided humanitarian assistance to migrants but was suspended due to an expired agreement with the country’s health ministry.

According to the report, MSF had suggested that the suspension was in retaliation for several allegations made against Panamanian authorities for failing to address unprecedented levels of sexual violence in Darien in the first months of 2024.

MSF told the AP on Thursday that it has resumed its activities at the Lajas Blancas sanctuary since last week after Panamanian authorities approved a three-month medical intervention. Doctors Without Borders said it provided medical care to more than 72,700 migrants from January 2023 to February 2024.

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