How Panama plans to stop migrant-smuggling through the perilous Darien Gap

Haitian migrants wade through water as they cross the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama in hopes of reaching the U.S.(Ivan Valencia / Associated Press)

BY JUAN ZAMORANO AND CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
JUNE 5, 2023 3:13 AM PT

NICANOR, Panama — Panama has unveiled a new effort to control illegal migration through the treacherous Darien Gap that spans its eastern border with Colombia.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants have risked the dangerous trek through the jungle in recent years, and the flow this year is on a record pace. Most of those who cross are trying to reach the United States.

In April, as the U.S. prepared to lift pandemic-related restrictions that had allowed authorities to turn back asylum seekers at the border, it announced together with Panama and Colombia increased efforts in the largely lawless Darien Gap. Panama’s “Shield” campaign, announced Friday, is the first public display of those new efforts.

What is the Darien Gap?

The Darien Gap earned its name because it is the break in the Pan-American Highway connecting South and North America. Darien is also the name of Panama’s easternmost province, which abuts Colombia.

It is composed of dense, roadless jungle, mountains and fast-flowing rivers. Migrants who have made the crossing regularly report being robbed and sexually assaulted and seeing bodies of others who did not survive along the way. Earlier this week, three suspected bandits died in a shootout with border police in Darien.

More:
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-06-05/panama-operation-migrant-smugglers-darien-gap-explainer