Mulino already showing progress with immigration via Colombia.

Darien

https://apnews.com/article/panama-migration-colombia-darien-mulino-18a5784429a23c4c8fe7e966ba3213c0

 

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Migration through the Darien Gap dividing Colombia and Panama has declined significantly this month since Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino took office and ordered authorities to get control of the dense jungle frontier, the country’s border police said Wednesday.

Still, migration through the Darien remains close to what it was in a record-breaking 2023, when more than 500,000 migrants – more than half Venezuelans – made the treacherous journey.

The National Border Service reported Wednesday that 11,363 migrants had crossed the border since July 1, about 9,000 fewer than the same period last year.

The agency’s director general, Jorge Gobea, attributed the reduction to the installation of about 3 miles (5 kilometers) of barbed wire on five trails in an effort to funnel migrants to a “humanitarian corridor.”

He also said the government’s announcement of its more aggressive efforts and plan to deport migrants back to their countries, as well as heavy rains, could have affected the number of border crossers.

Mulino took office promising to stop illegal migration through the Darien Gap. The U.S. government agreed to pay for deportation flights for those migrants deemed inadmissible, but those flights have not started.

So far this year, more than 212,000 migrants have entered Panama through the Darien. Besides Venezuelans, others crossing include migrants from Ecuador, Colombia and China.

Panama’s active efforts to stop and deport migrants would be a massive shift.

Under the outgoing administration, Panama had sought to help migrants cross the country quickly and in an orderly fashion. Migrants generally emerged from the jungle, registered with authorities and were swept across the country to the Costa Rican border.

Strengthening enforcement efforts in Panama could potentially reduce the number of migrants reaching the U.S. border, at least for a time until new routes are established. But it could also force migrants to use riskier paths and be a boon for smugglers.

U.S. arrests for illegally crossing the border from Mexico plunged 29% in June, the lowest month of Joe Biden’s presidency, according to figures released Monday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Arrests totaled 83,536 in June, down from 117,901 in May, to mark the lowest tally since January 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.

A seven-day average of daily arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border fell more than half by the end of June from Biden’s announcement on June 4 that asylum processing would be halted when daily arrests reach 2,500, which they did immediately.

 

 

No Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Human Interest
Process of RE-PATRIATION of migrants has begun. Transport financed by US taxpayer.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqjlqk0wv1no Panama on Tuesday started repatriating undocumented migrants on flights financed by the United States. The move comes less than two months after José Raúl Mulino was sworn in as Panama’s president. Mr Mulino campaigned on a promise to “close” the Darién Gap, the dangerous stretch of jungle which more …

Darien
Plans forming to deal with closing the DARIEN GAP.

https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2024/08/15/a-bold-plan-to-close-the-deadly-darien-gap-unravels At a migrant shelter in the thick jungle of Colombia’s Darién region a restaurant advertises fried fish, pork chops and 5G internet. A sign in cheerful bubble letters points the way to the border with Panama. Yet just a 30-minute walk along the muddy, steep path from the restaurant, a razor-wire …

Darien
Within “Darien Gap” there was a “VIP” route specifically for the Chinese.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama-dismantles-vip-route-for-chinese-migrants-in-the-darien-jungle Panama’s border police dismantled an organization involved in the human trafficking of Chinese migrants, facilitating a “VIP route” with fewer difficulties to cross the inhospitable Darién jungle on their way to the United States. “We have arrested 15 people linked to the crime of illegal migrant trafficking,” said prosecutor …