Six-fold increase in migrants crossing Darién jungle

Some 387,390  migrants trekked through the Darién jungle in the first quarter, six times more than during the same period last year, reports  Panama’s National Migration Service.

To this must be added that between April 1 and 5, 4,905 migrants arrived through the Darién Gap with Venezuelans, Haitians, and Ecuadorians forming the majority.

For the Bishop of Darién, Pedro Hernández Cantarero, the humanitarian drama is “complex”, since this year the arrival of more travelers to the province is notorious. “There is a very large influx and it is opportune to prepare. The situation exceeds our capabilities and we must continue to improve ”, he stated.

Organizations such as the United Nations Agency for Children (Unicef), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and warned last year about what is happening in Darién and,  Panama Ombudsman Eduardo Leblanc, urged the creation of a plan to deal with the great migratory wave.