Panama City, Feb 1 (EFE).- The passage of undocumented migrants through the dangerous Dari\u00e9n 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.<\/p>
According to the agency, 2,158 migrants entered Panama through the Dari\u00e9n in January 2025, while 34,839 did so in the first month of 2024.<\/p>
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, Jos\u00e9 Ra\u00fal Mulino, on Sunday.<\/p>
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.<\/p>
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 Dari\u00e9n jungle, the imposition of fines for illegal entry into the country, the rainy season, and a US-funded deportation flight program.<\/p>
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. <\/p>
During 2024, 300,549 migrants from South America, Africa and Asia crossed the Dari\u00e9n 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.<\/p>
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.<\/p>
This figure could be much higher as the recovery of remains from the jungle, where there are no roads, is very difficult. EFE.<\/p>
fa\/ics<\/p>
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