Panama announces the closure of the Darién plug route for which more than one million immigrants have crossed the United States

The president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, announced this Thursday the closure of the migratory centers that has been part of the Darién plug route, the jungle area that have crossed more than one million immigrants since 2016. Mulino says that the transit of people who were heading to the United States has decreased 98%. The mass deportations ordered by Donald Trump have deteriorated many immigrants, who even make the way back to their countries for this same border step, only in the opposite direction.

For the country

«We will not allow more migrants in that area of ​​the Darien and we close an operation that began in 2016. I am very pleased to have fulfilled and have closed the Darién, with what that means for regional and Panamanian security,» he said at a press conference. Mulino makes this announcement the same day that the NBC has revealed that Trump has asked the Pentagon to several plans to take control of the Panama Canal, the jewel on which the economy of this country turns.

Darién crossed him especially Venezuelans fleeing from the catastrophic economic situation of his country, but also Colombians, Ecuadorians and even people arriving from remote places, such as Vietnam, Afghanistan or Congo. The passage from the Colombian area was controlled for paramilitary groups that have won hundreds of millions of dollars with this business. Each migrant had to pay about $ 350 if he wanted to have the right to pass. An indeterminate number of people has died in these years victim of the dangers of the jungle, floods of rivers and robberies and violations of criminal gangs.

The Panamanian side was controlled by the National Border Service (Senafront), which monitored the crossroads. Before leaving the jungle, they had to stop in Bajo Chiquito and Canaan Membrillo, where the Panamanian authorities controlled passports and attended the immigrants medically. A twenty oenegés and United Nations entities also took care of giving them assistance, taking care of minors and providing them with drinking water, showers and food.

The migratory passage also changed the life of the indigenous peoples who live on the banks of the river that crosses the jungle, mostly of Embera origin. The inhabitants of these little populations took migrants in boat and gave them a roof and sold them food. Suddenly they had extraordinary economic income. The closure is a very large economic blow for its communities. The fall in the flow of immigrants, according to the president of Panama, has been loud: «A year ago we had 36,841 migrants crossing by Darién, today March we reached 112. A very important decrease, which represents between 97-98 % success by the migration authorities and Senafront.»

The Darien as an important step began to be relevant when in 2016 citizens of Cuban nationality began to cross it. Open that route that seemed more feasible than the maritime, the figures rose in 2021 with 133,726 migrants, 248,284 in 2022 and 520,000 in 2023. It became the most important border crossing in the world. Then they arrived in Costa Rica, where they continued to Mexico. From the north of that country they entered the United States. Trump’s arrival at the White House has changed everything. For now, Darien’s crossing is closed.