Ombudsman  warns of increase in minors crossing  Darien Gap

The Colombian Ombudsman’s Office has alerted the authorities about the increase in minors who are crossing into Panama through the Darién jungle, some of them unaccompanied.

A statement from the Colombian entity,  reports the passage towards the Darién plug of 169 boys and girls, from 0 to 12 years old, and 41 adolescents between 13 and 17 years old.

Necoclí is one of several points from which irregular migrants leave for Panama.

The latest report from the National Migration Service of Panama details that in May, at the migrant reception posts in Darién, the passage of 13 thousand 894 people was registered, of which 2 thousand 5 were minors.

“There has also been an increase in unaccompanied children: Unicef ​​Panama reported the arrival of 17 unaccompanied youth at its border, which affects the social fabric in the territory and violates the human rights of children, subject to special protection by part of the Colombian State”, highlights the Ombudsman of the South American nation.

In the last two years, the migratory flow through the region has generated a crisis, which led the rulers of the nations of the area to sit down and talk in order to take action to stop this irregular mobilization.

According to the records of Panama Migration, in five months of 2022, 32,797 travelers crossed the border through Darién, most of them from Venezuela. Of that amount, it is specified that 5,028 were minors.

Most have the ultimate goal of reaching the United States.