Kristin Ziccarelli, policy analyst at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), stated that the newly elected President of Panama has pledged to close a "dangerous migration route" called the Darien Gap, which is controlled by Mexican cartels. Ziccarelli made her comments in a May 21 AFPI report.
"Panama's Darién Gap plays a significant role in facilitating the mass illegal immigration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border," said Ziccarelli. "Located in Northern Colombia and the southernmost part of Panama, the Darién is the only overland path that connects Central America to South America. The journey through the Darién Gap is one of the most dangerous migration routes in the world. It is a highly forested 60-mile stretch of treacherous terrain, violent criminal cartels, and exposure to disease. Migrants who survive its passage tell harrowing stories of robbery, sexual assault, kidnapping, killings, child trafficking, and other terrible crimes against them and their families. Despite these horrific conditions, in 2023 more than half a million migrants crossed through the Darién on their way to the U.S. southern border, double the amount recorded in 2022 and quintuple the number in 2021."
José Raúl Mulino was elected President of Panama on May 5, with his campaign based on securing Panama’s borders and fighting crime and corruption, according to Ziccarelli.
The Darien Gap hosts hazardous conditions for those crossing into North America from South America through Panama. "Closing the passageway through the Darién Gap would mean that millions of migrants would be spared the violence, sexual assault, disease, and death that comes from traversing one of the most treacherous jungles in the world," said Ziccarelli. "It would also mean less business for the cartels and bad actors who extort and exploit those migrants along their journey and are fueling one of the worst humanitarian tragedies of our lifetime."
According to American Military University, cartels including Colombia’s most powerful Gulf Clan control the Darien Gap and facilitate migrant crossings. Those crossing the Darien Gap are often forced into trafficking, robbed or seriously harmed.
President-Elect Mulino promises to close the Darien Gap, reported by the Center for Immigration Studies (CSI). The Darien Gap is an area of land connecting North and South America which immigrants must cross to reach the U.S. border. "Our Darien is not a transit route, no sir. It is our border," said Mulino, according to CSI.
Ziccarelli is also director of production and a policy analyst at the Center for Homeland Security and Immigration at AFPI. The AFPI is a non-profit, non-partisan research group, according to their website.
