Darién Gap News

Colombian authorities shut down a passage in the Colombia-Panama border region known as the Darién Gap last week after Colombian police arrested two boat captains accused of illegally transporting migrants through the dangerous jungle area. The closure caused a bottleneck in which thousands of migrants crowded into two Colombian towns that lacked enough food and infrastructure to support them. The passage was reopened after around five days.  Although Washington in the USA has pressured Latin American governments to impose new restrictions on northward migration, the episode underscored that abruptly shutting down migrant transit routes has logistical and humanitarian consequences.