Fifty-five US-bound migrants have died and 180 children have been abandoned this year while crossing the treacherous Darien jungle from Colombia, Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino said Thursday.Despite dangers including fast-flowing rivers, wild animals and criminal gangs, the Darien is a key corridor for Venezuelan and other migrants traveling overland from South America through Central America and Mexico to the United States.”Fifty-five people have died in 2024 on the Darien route,” Mulino said during his weekly press conference.Panamanian authorities suspect that the death toll may be higher, as many bodies cannot be recovered from the inaccessible jungle.So far this year, 300,000 migrants have crossed the Darien, 41 percent less than in 2023, when a record 520,000 people made the dangerous journey, according to Panama’s government.Mulino said that “180 unaccompanied minors” have been abandoned in the Panamanian jungle this year and are now being looked after by child care institutions.”It’s a very serious problem because as far as I understand they are minors of different ages,” including young children, he said.According to international organizations, some of the children were alone because their relatives died or got lost, while others were traveling unaccompanied. Panama and Mexico have come under increased pressure from the United States to tackle the highly contentious migration issue.Following an agreement signed with Washington in July, Panama has closed several routes in the Darien region and deported more than 1,500 migrants on flights to Colombia, Ecuador and India with US financial support.”Risking your life walking for 20 or 21 days so that they catch you and put you on a plane back to where you started, I feel that this has been a deterrent,” Mulino said.
Thu, 19 Dec 2024 20:57:07 GMT
