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By Dan Gooding
Associate News Editor
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With over 170,000 people passing through a notorious jungle pass in Panama — many headed for the United States — in the first five months of the year, the two countries are teaming up to try and stem the flow.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Monday that it was helping Panama's government deal with "irregular migration," with a focus on the Darién Gap.
The dense jungle region was traversed by over half a million migrants in 2023 to move from South America toward the southern U.S. border.
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DHS now plans to give Panama financial aid to remove those in the country illegally, hoping to force migrants into using legal pathways instead.
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"Irregular migration is a regional challenge that requires a regional response," Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas said in a press release.
"As the United States continues to secure our borders and remove individuals without a legal basis to remain, we are grateful for our partnership with Panama to manage the historic levels of migration across the Western Hemisphere."
Data analyzed by Newsweek showed that between January and May 2024, the highest number of people documented passing through Darién were from Venezuela.
The map below shows the countries with the highest numbers of migrants making the journey, including China, India and Iran, alongside other South American nations.
The move to crack down on those passing through Panama comes after the country's new president, José Raúl Mulino, made a pledge to cut immigration.
"I won't allow Panama to be an open path for thousands of people who enter our country illegally, supported by an international organization related to drug trafficking and human trafficking," Mulino said during his inauguration speech on Monday.
The agreement between the U.S. and Panama will see DHS officers training their Panamanian counterparts, who can then determine who has a legal right to remain in Panama and who should be removed.
The U.S. will then pay for charter flights or commercial airline tickets for those migrants to return to their home country, the Associated Press reported.
The UNHCR — the UN's refugee agency — told Newsweek that the Darién had become a serious humanitarian issue in and of itself.
"The number of people crossing the Darién has translated into multiple serious and life-threatening concerns, including the stretched capacity to address the needs of refugees and migrants and increasing sexual violence, among others," a spokesperson said Tuesday.
"In UNHCR's latest protection monitoring in Darién, 65% of refugees and migrants interviewed reported being victims of theft, scams or fraud, and 70% experienced mistreatment or abuse during their journey through the jungle."
Thousands of Children
In May, UNICEF warned that a large number of those making their way through the jungle of the Darien Gap were children.
In the first four months of the year, 30,000 children made the journey, around 2,000 of whom were unaccompanied, UNICEF said.
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"The Darién Gap is no place for children. Many children have died on this arduous, dangerous journey," Ted Chaiban, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, said in a press release.
"I met Esmeria, an 11-year-old girl from Venezuela who [was] separated from her mother during the crossing through the jungle. Through tears, Esmeria shared with me how difficult it was for her to be alone in the jungle," Chaiban added.
His organization has asked for around $7.6 million in funding to help those in need in the pass, but had only received around 10% of that in May.
DHS said it is working with 21 partners under the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection to provide safe pathways for migrants.
As for those reaching the U.S. border, data released on Monday showed around 84,000 encounters recorded by Customs and Border Protection in June, with the Biden administration arguing its crackdown on illegal crossings was working.
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