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'Unprecedented': UN says 100,000 migrants crossed Darien Gap since January

UNHCR says sharp increase of people crossing the dangerous corridor between Panama and Colombia is "highly worrying", as the two nations seek US help to roll out a plan to reduce poverty and prevent mass migration.

AP

There were almost 88,000 illegal crossings through the Darien Gap in the first three months of 2023, more than six times the number logged in the same period last year.

UN agencies have warned of a "worrying" spike in migrants crossing the dangerous Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia, saying that this year alone more than 100,000 had already made the journey.

The Darien jungle has become a corridor for migrants trying to reach the United States, despite being fraught with dangers such as raging rivers, wild animals and criminal gangs.

"The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) warn of the worrying increase of people crossing the Darien jungle," the two said in a joint statement on Thursday.

"A record number of more than 100,000 people have crossed the Darien, six times more than those who arrived in the same period in 2022," they added.

In 2022, an already record number of nearly 250,000 migrants crossed the Darien. The majority were Venezuelans, Haitians and Ecuadorians, although Asians, mainly from China and India, and Africans, mainly from Cameroon and Somalia, also made the journey.

"Panama is facing one of the most challenging crises of mixed movements in the last decade, as part of an unprecedented displacement across the Americas," the agencies warned.

"The dangers and levels of violence faced by people crossing the Darien are highly worrying," said Philippa Candler, the UNHCR representative in Panama in the statement.

US, Panama and Colombia agree to launch a two-month campaign to tackle undocumented immigration through the jungle region separating Colombia and Panama known as the Darien Gap pic.twitter.com/gZZYpNhkSZ
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) April 11, 2023

Earlier this week, the United States, Panama and Colombia announced that they will launch a two-month campaign to tackle undocumented immigration through the jungle region.

Panamanian Foreign Minister Janaina Tewaney and her Colombian counterpart Alvaro Leyva Duran met with US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in Panama City to discuss the challenge posed by increased illegal crossings through the Darien.

There were almost 88,000 illegal crossings through the Darien Gap in the first three months of 2023, more than six times the number logged in the same period last year, according to official Panama migration data.

Officials from the three countries also pledged to roll out a plan to reduce poverty and promote economic and sustainable opportunities in border communities.