Panama City, Feb 1 (EFE).- The passage of undocumented migrants through the dangerous Darién jungle, the natural border between Panama and Colombia, plummeted 94% in January compared to the same period in 2024, according to official data released Saturday by Panama’s National Migration Service.
According to the agency, 2,158 migrants entered Panama through the Darién in January 2025, while 34,839 did so in the first month of 2024.
The data was released a few hours before the arrival of the Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, for a meeting with the President of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, on Sunday.
Migration and threats by recently inaugurated US President Donald Trump to take over the Panama Canal are expected to be the main topics of the meeting.
The Panamanian government attributes the decline in migrant numbers to policies such as the closure of forest trails to create a single “humanitarian corridor” through the Darién jungle, the imposition of fines for illegal entry into the country, the rainy season, and a US-funded deportation flight program.
According to a report released by the Panamanian government earlier this week, 1,881 migrants have been deported or expelled from Panama since a Jul.-1-deal to repatriate irregular migrants who entered the Central American country following Panamanian laws and with the United States funding the flights.
During 2024, 300,549 migrants from South America, Africa and Asia crossed the Darién into Panama, 41% less than the record number of 511,103 in 2023, according to official statistics cited on Jan. 2 by the Panamanian president before parliament.
At least 55 migrants died in the jungle in 2024 at the hands of criminal gangs, from animal attacks, or from drowning, illness, or exhaustion, according to Panamanian authorities.
This figure could be much higher as the recovery of remains from the jungle, where there are no roads, is very difficult. EFE.
fa/ics