Panama launches media campaign to deter migrants

“Darién is not a route, it’s a jungle”. says a Panama Government campaign launched this week in the face of the irregular migration crisis that until Wednesday, August 23, had seen the passage of 308,000.

“Despite all the efforts, the meetings with the countries involved have not been able to achieve a stop to the situation, said the Minister of Public Security, Juan Manuel Pino, who explained that currently between 2,500 and 3000 enter daily “It is a situation that has surpassed us,” he commented.

Pino  said  that more than $ 60 million has been allocated to the attention of all those people who enter irregularly.

The director of the National Migration Service, Samira Gozaine, explained that in 2016 the passage of 25,407 irregular migrants was reported. “For this year, more than 308,000 people have already been displaced through Darién with a projection that could reach half a million”.

Panama is a transit country for the exodus that has received and offered medical and food services this year to more than 300,000 migrants heading to the United States.

The migratory flow travels through Darién, at the mercy of the rigors of the wild environment and also criminal groups that commit assaults and rapes.