According to the statistical figures provided by Panama Migration, in the last four years, 612,705 people crossed the Colombian-Panamanian border, of which 20% are children. The Panamanian authorities reported this week that the number of migrants who have crossed the Darien jungle so far this year already exceeds 200,000
More than 40,000 migrant children have crossed this year 2023 the dangerous jungle of the Darién. Abandoned children pass along the natural border between Panama and Colombia. Others found next to the body of their mother, according to figures and testimonies collected by the Panamanian authorities.
The information was made official by the National Migration Service (SNM) through a report released on Sunday, July 9 by the Ministry of Public Security (Minseg) of Panama.
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The infants are exposed to the “dangers of mighty rivers, steep hills, ravines and the habitat of dangerous jaguars and poisonous snakes,” the authorities noted.
According to the statistical figures provided by Migration, in the last four years, 612,705 people crossed the Colombian-Panamanian border, of which 20% are children.
“There is great concern because migrant children leave their schools, they are exposed to criminal groups,” said the Minister of Public Security, José Manuel Pino.
“They suffer from inclement weather, they are hungry, cold, afraid, they are separated from their parents in the jungle,” said the director of the National Migration Service, Zamira Gozaine.
Gozaine indicated that there are testimonies that claim to have found “abandoned children and others next to the corpse of their mothers,” and remarked that in all these statements “it is clear that organized crime is the only beneficiary, (that) encourages and encourages irregular migration through the Darién jungle and other routes».
The head of the SNM affirmed in this sense that Panama “does not generate irregular migration nor is it a participant in it,” and said that humanitarian treatment will continue to be provided to those who are inside the border while alternative means are sought so that they can get “where they want to go, but in a safe and dignified way”.
Darien figures
The Panamanian authorities reported this week that the number of migrants who have crossed the Darién jungle so far this year already exceeds 200,000, an unprecedented figure that multiplies by four the 49,452 who crossed this border in the first half of 2022.
Panama receives irregular travelers heading to North America at migration stations located near its southern border with Colombia and on the northern border with Costa Rica, where it offers them healthcare and food, in a unique operation on the continent that involves a dozen of international organizations.
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