Number of US-bound refugees crossing dangerous Darien Gap tops 400,000

The number of US-bound refugees and migrants who have crossed through the notorious jungle stretch between Panama and Colombia has soared this year to more than 400,000, Panama said.

Panama's Public Security Ministry said on Thursday it has tallied 402,030 people passing through as of Wednesday.

That figure is 62 percent more than the number of migrants who crossed the Darien Gap in all of 2022.

Panama said as many as 4,000 people are crossing from Colombia each day.

Along the journey are wild animals, thick jungle, rivers and criminal gangs who rob refugees or demand money to guide them through the jungle.

Despite its dangers, the 265-kilometre Darien Gap has become a key corridor for migrants and refugees heading from South America through Central America and Mexico in hopes of reaching the United States.

Panamanian authorities do not know the exact number of refugees who die in the dense jungle area, with many deaths unreported.

Most are from Venezuela, Haiti, Ecuador and Colombia, although some are Chinese and Afghan.

The flow is so great that Panama has set up aid centres for refugees in different parts of the country.

But Public Security Minister Juan Pino said on Thursday that Panama is overwhelmed, insisting "we are making a superhuman effort."

In a bid to curb the endless procession of humanity, the government announced a series of measures on September 9, such as an increase in the number of deportations of people who enter the country illegally.

'Funds simply aren’t there'

With the flow of refugees reaching historic levels, Ugochi Daniels, deputy director of operations for the International Organization for Migration, said in an interview with the Associated Press the "funds simply aren’t there."

He said a larger and coordinated regional effort is necessary for a longer-term solution to the steady movement of vulnerable people toward the United States.

But other global crises — among them the war in Ukraine, conflict in Sudan, Morocco’s earthquake — have pulled global funds away, Daniels said.

"Obviously, it’s not an issue that can be solved by any one country," she said.

"The unprecedented flows in the region require attention — international attention."

The UN estimated that this year through August, it needed $55.2 billion to take on compounding global crises, but it received funds for only 71 percent of that.

A growing number of countries, including Panama and Costa Rica, are pleading for international aid in handling the flood of refugees, though Daniels would not say who should pay the tab.

The flood of refugees to the Mexico-US border has swelled in recent years, with recent days seeing thousands of people crossing daily just into Texas.

In fiscal year 2017, US authorities stopped refugees 310,531 times on the border, while in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2023, they recorded more than 1.8 million stops.