The number of migrants trying to reach the US border by trekking through Panama’s much-feared Darien Gap has more than doubled from a year ago.
(Bloomberg) — The number of migrants trying to reach the US border by trekking through Panama’s much-feared Darien Gap has more than doubled from a year ago.
Some 55,387 migrants crossed the dense jungle region between South and Central America in July, according to Panama’s immigration institute. That’s up from 22,822 in the same month in 2022.
More than 250,000 migrants have already made the trek since January, surpassing the total for all of 2022, according to the institute.
Most of the migrants are from Venezuela, though there was also a 14-fold increase in the number of Ecuadorans making the journey, with 34,849 crossing in the first seven months this year. Ecuador has become increasingly violent in recent years as drug traffickers take over swathes of territory. A presidential candidate was murdered this week.
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