Ten Migrants Found Dead on the Border Between Panama and Colombia
Panamanian authorities have found the bodies of 10 migrants who drowned when they were caught in a flooded river while crossing the Darien jungle, the country’s National Border Service (Senafront) reported in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the police guarding the border with Colombia, the incident occurred on the tributaries of a river near the community of Carreto, Guna Yala. The deaths of these people occurred despite the fact that since the beginning of July, the new government, headed by Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, has placed barbed wire or serpentine fences on at least five paths, so that according to Senafront and the country’s Ministry of Security, migrants who enter illegally through the border with Colombia are forced to use only one authorized entrance.
The Senafront statement reiterates that the objective is to “channel irregular migration through the humanitarian corridor that offers greater protection to the migrant population. Transnational organized crime, through local collaborators in these Caribbean coastal communities, insists on using unauthorized crossings, putting the lives of these people at serious risk, as is the case under investigation.” The only authorized crossing point for migration is the one leading to Cañas Blancas, in Darién, “where specialized patrols are available for protection and humanitarian assistance,” explained the Senafront statement. The agency added that it informed the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the deaths of these 10 people “considering that these bodies were supposedly buried to cover up their criminal links to migrant trafficking.”
Figures from Panama’s National Migration Service indicate that so far in 2024 and as of Monday, 216,005 migrants have entered the country irregularly; while the Ministry of Security says that with the new measures implemented there is a decrease, since in June 31,049 migrants passed through, and so far in July, only 11,386 have been registered.
