BOGOTA, Colombia

Panamanian authorities said more than 520,000 migrants crossed the Darien Gap in 2023, of which 120,000 were minors.

The figure marks a record compared to the 248,283 who crossed the jungle in 2022 in pursuit of a better future in the US.

The Ministry of Public Security said Monday at least 328,667 migrants are from Venezuela. Other top nationalities crossing the 575,000-hectare (1.4 million-acre) wall of vegetation that connects Central and South America were Ecuadorians at 57,222, 46,558 Haitians, and 25,344 Chinese.

According to UNICEF gender expert Johana Tejada Lopez, 50% of the children who passed through the route are under 5. Tejada Lopez warned of the increase in the arrival of children separated from their parents during the crossing and of teens traveling alone.

Although the last months of 2023 recorded a decrease in crossings, there has been a sustained increase in those making the treacherous journey in recent years. While 8,594 migrants crossed in 2020, the figure increased to 133,726 in 2021 and to 248,283 in 2022.

The latest figures have alarmed UN officials, who fear the numbers will continue to rise.

The UN has demanded urgent measures for the growing humanitarian emergency. It said no country alone is equipped to address the increasing numbers of migrants that are motivated by the lack of opportunities, violence, climate crisis, and poverty, and those willing to risk their lives to cross.