Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Child migration through Panama's dangerous Darien Gap is up 40%, UN report says

A U.N. report says child migration through Panama’s dangerous Darien Gap is up 40% so far this year

Via AP news wire
Wednesday 15 May 2024 12:44 EDT
Panama Migration
Panama Migration (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Child migration through Panama’s dangerous Darien Gap is up 40% so far this year, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.N. children's agency.

UNICEF said an estimated 30,000 minors have crossed the jungle-clad trail between Colombia and Panama, and some have died making the trip. The report says a total of 139,000 migrants of all ages have made the crossing in the same period.

“Many children have died on this dangerous and arduous trip," said Ted Chaiban, deputy executive director of UNICEF. “Given that children make up one-fifth of those making this journey, UNICEF's presence and help is more important than ever.”

Last year, more than 500,000 people crossed the treacherous migratory highway, many traveling from Venezuela and other Latin American, African and Asian countries. From there, migrants wind up going through Central America and Mexico and land on the U.S. Mexico border, where authorities came across migrants 2.5 million times in 2023.

UNICEF predicted that, at the current rate, as many as 800,000 migrants and 160,000 minors could make the crossing by the end of the year.

The agency says more funding is needed to care of the underage migrants. Many of the migrants making the crossing are Venezuelan, Haitian, Ecuadoran and Chinese.

President-elect José Raúl Mulino vowed earlier this month to shut down the migration route. Until now, Panama has helped speedily bus the migrants across its territory so they can continue their journey north.

The migrant route through the narrow isthmus grew exponentially in popularity in recent years with the help of organized crime in Colombia, making it an affordable, if dangerous, land route for hundreds of thousands.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in