Clash Between Armed Groups and Panamanian Border Police Leave two Dead in Darién

Panamanian border police reported last week the deaths of two suspected criminals in two consecutive armed confrontations in a migrant crossing area near the Darien jungle, a route that has seen record numbers of people move through in recent years and where insecurity has increased.

The clash between uniformed officers and armed men occurred after receiving information from a group of migrants “whose belongings were stolen.” Upon receiving the order from the border police to stop, a group of armed people opened fire.

“One of the criminals” was neutralized, a man carrying a .22-caliber rifle with a shortened barrel, the statement said. The second death was the result of a subsequent confrontation, when the police called for help at a nearby point, one kilometer from the first incident. According to the police, he was carrying a 16-caliber shotgun.

The clashes occurred in a humanitarian corridor, approximately five kilometers from Tres Bocas, a confluence zone for migrants in the dangerous Darien jungle. More than 236,000 migrants have passed through that jungle between January and August. In the same period in 2023, more than 324,000 people crossed it. That year, Panama reported a record number of displacements with more than half a million people.

Faced with this situation, the new Panamanian government, with the arrival to power last July of José Raúl Mulino, proposed a policy of greater control and tougher measures against the irregular flow of migrants. During its mandate, Panama has carried out six repatriation flights to Colombia, Ecuador and India under an agreement signed with the United States.

Humanitarian organisations working in the area to assist migrants have reported an increase in insecurity against foreigners in recent months.

This is not the first time that a confrontation between uniformed officers and armed people has left victims. At least in May 2023, another clash with the police resulted in three deaths.

The removal of the two bodies left by the operation on Wednesday will be carried out in the next few hours by personnel from the Public Ministry, according to the border police. Attention will also be given to “other rescued victims,” ​​the authorities said, without giving further details of whether there were any injured or other affected people.