UN: As many as 400,000 migrants may cross Darien Gap in 2023

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Two United Nations groups said Thursday that the number of migrants crossing the dangerous Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama could soar to as many as 400,000 this year.

That would represent a huge increase from the 250,000 migrants estimated to have crossed the roadless, jungle-clad route in 2022.

The UN agencies for refugees and migration said in a report that nearly 100,000 people may have already made the crossing so far this year, six times more than in the similar period of last year.

If that trend keeps up, it could mean many more migrants seeking to reach the United States through Central America and Mexico.

The groups called it “an unprecedented movement (of people) through the Americas.”

The United States pledged its forces will assist their Colombian and Panamanian counterparts with intelligence gathering to dismantle smuggling rings operating in the Darien Gap, which is a key route for migrants heading to the US from South America, a senior Biden administration official said Wednesday.

The area is among the most dangerous portions of the long route to the US borders.

Migrants and international human rights groups have denounced sexual assaults, robberies and killings in the remote jungle. That's in addition to the natural dangers posed by venomous snakes and rushing rivers.

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