PANAMA CITY: Really over 170, 000 workers crossed the deadly Darien Gap that connects Panama to Colombia over the first five weeks of this year, Panama’s movement agency said on Thursday, suggesting 2024 may suddenly break records.
According to data from the National Migration Service ( SNM), as more people travel through the dangerous crossing and seek better opportunities in the United States, this number is 2 % higher than the nearly 167, 000 who crossed in the same period last year.
More than half a million individuals crossed the stretch of dense forest last year, making it a record-breaking time for movement through the Darien, where day-long treks by base face robbery, murder, human smuggling, and sexual abuse.
Despite the record numbers, Nicaraguan authorities sought foreign assistance and increased border security, despite the fact that the figures have kept rising.
A new government, due to come into authority on July 1, is set to examine tightening its southern border in a bid to halt movement, though it has no detailed its approach.
Despite increasing through the first half of 2024, SNM saw a substantial reduction in April and May as a result of the start of the rainy season.
The largest class crossing the Darien Gap, according to authorities, was Venezuelans, which are currently experiencing an economic and political turmoil.
SNM said that a more 4, 499 individuals has made the cross in the first six weeks of June, 901 of whom were babies.
A large hospital restrictions that was imposed by US President Joe Biden this year, which could hinder workers from entering the country, may have an impact on this year’s upward pattern. Impending uncertainty around the goal of the US election in November, in which previous Republican President Donald Trump is vying for a second term in office, may have an impact on migrant moves.
