According to the official statement, the boat was shipwrecked «due to strong waves caused by bad weather. The National Border Service (Senafront) of Panama, in coordination with the community, continues the search and rescue work to locate all people
A total of 19 migrants from Venezuelan and Colombian nationalities were aboard the boat that was shipwrecked in Panama’s Caribbean waters. The exact date of the incident is unknown, but the authorities deployed a search operation, according to the information given by the National Border Service (Senafront) of the Central American country.
According to the agency’s statement, reviewed by the media, the event occurred in the waters of the Guna Yala region, border with Colombia. In addition to the 19 migrants of Colombian and Venezuelan nationality, two indigenous Panamanians were traveling: the captain and his assistant, said this Saturday, February 22.
The boat would have shipwrecked «due to strong waves caused by bad weather. Senafront, in coordination with the community, continues the search and rescue work to locate all people and determine their status ».
*Also read: Venezuelan migrants stranded in Chiapas seek that Mexico returns them to Venezuela
The flow of irregular migrants that arrive in Panama through the Darién jungle, the dangerous natural border with Colombia, collapsed 94 % last January, compared to the same month of the previous year, in the midst of a hardening of the measures of Panamanian security and immigration policy of the United States.
According to the official figures, in January a total of 2,158 migrants entered through the Darien, compared to the 34,839 that did so in the same period of 2024.
Panama has also agreed to be a “bridge” country for the repatriation of irregular migrants and in that framework has received almost 300 sent by the United States.
With EFE information
