Panama’s president says fewer migrants crossing Darien Gap after fences installed

BOGOTA, Colombia

Panama’s president announced Thursday that the flow of migrants through the Darien Gap has decreased following the installation of barbed wire fences on unauthorized routes.

"I see with satisfaction the reports that the National Border Service sends me regarding the decrease in the transit of people" through the Darien, Jose Raul Mulino said at a press conference.

"I think the system of putting up fences and redirecting traffic in one direction has helped a lot, as well as an intense 24-hour patrol," he added.

The Darien Gap, a strip of land between Panama and Colombia filled with mountainous jungles and swamps, is a key route for migrants heading to the US from South America.

The National Border Service reported this week that 11,363 migrants had crossed the border since Mulino took office, about 9,000 fewer than the same period last year.

The three-mile-long fence consists of barbed wire nailed to trees in at least five unauthorized crossings that stop the flow of migrants.

Mulino also ruled out forcibly repatriating migrants who cross the Darien jungle on their way to the US.

"We cannot put them in prison. We cannot forcibly repatriate them," he said. “This is a US problem that we are managing. People don’t want to live here in Panama. They want to go to the United States. And if this issue becomes a situation for us, which can happen to a lesser or greater degree, then they will go there."

Upon assuming power on July 1, Mulino had promised to return migrants who arrived in Panama through the jungle to their countries of origin and to close this route used by more than half a million people in 2023. In one of its first acts, Mulino’s government agreed with the US to cover the costs of repatriating migrants.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro criticized the installation of barbed wire fences on the trails.

“There is a position that is to repress, to close borders. Plugging the Gap is quite difficult. I think that position is not effective,” Petro said.

Human rights organizations have also warned that the measure will affect the rights of migrants. The Colombian Ombudsman has asked the Petro administration to demand Panamanian authorities to comply with the human rights of those crossing the Darien stretch. The government must ensure "shelter, accessibility to basic needs, and guarantees of non-refoulement of migrants eligible for asylum and in need of international protection," it said. ​​​​​​​

So far this year, more than 212,000 migrants have crossed the inhospitable jungle. Most of the migrants crossing the stretch of land are from Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia and China.