Panama’s double whammy – drug and migrant smuggling

Panama is not only a route for drug trafficking, but for migrants, who in most cases are victims of exploitation by people who charge thousands of dollars to take them through one of the most dangerous routes in the world. The number of migrants crossing Panama to reach the United States is increasing because there is a business – nothing hidden – that the so-called Clan del Golfo exploits: international migrant smuggling. So far in 2022, there are already more than 150,000, which means tens of millions of dollars a year, in a business that for them does not involve greater risk and that turns out to be very lucrative. Those who run the risks are their victims, exposed to the dangers of an inhospitable jungle and gangs that assault and rape. What does the National Border Service do? We know little, except that, on paper, it provides humanitarian aid, food, and medicine to migrants, although the news of assaults and rapes against these people is more than what we have of their role protecting them. The truth is that there are reports from international NGOs that denounce how a foreign criminal clan is the one in charge in Darién. And this deserves explanations from our authorities. – LA PRENSA, Dec. 18