“Big Jump in Migrants Cross Panama’s Deadly Darien Gap – How It Could Affect Us All”

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In the first two months of 2023, 50,000 people from different places in the world traveled through a dangerous area called the Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama. That’s five times more than last year in the same period! In 2022, 250,000 migrants went across this gap; with bigger numbers coming in September and October. This likely means even more people could cross it this year.

In the first two months of this year, a lot more children and teenagers crossed the Darien route than any other time. The People’s Defense Office confirmed that 9,683 young migrants moved through there, which is seven times as many minors compared to last year. Out of these, 1,119 were travelling without adults.

The office and U.N. (United Nations) experts reported that the Darien Gap crossing has become a common path for people who are travelling from South America to the United States border.

Alberto Brunori, who is the Central America regional representative of the U.N.’s human rights team said, “Every year more and more migrants are starting their journey through Panama, and according to data collected in the early months of 2023, this number might even grow bigger.”

In 2022, there were 250,000 people who tried to cross the border from one country to another. That was almost double the number of people that did it the year before which was 133,000.

The journey across the dangerous jungle can be very dangerous because you could meet thieves, people who sell you for money and even get sexually assaulted along the way. There are also groups carrying weapons in this area as well.

Because of these dangers more and more people are crossing over every year. The American government is trying to make this trip less attractive so that fewer people do it.

The government said that from the countries of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, they would allow up to 30,000 people each month to come in legally. This requires them to apply online, arrive by plane, and have someone financially support them.

At the same time, Mexico promised to take back an equal number of people who were trying to get into America illegally but were sent back because COVID-19 was spreading.