In 2023, 520,000 people crossed the Darién jungle, including many Cubans
14ymedio, Havana, 12 May 2024 — The president-elect of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, who will assume the office in July, promises to “end the Darién odyssey.” During his proclamation, he said that the Darién jungle route between Colombia and Panama, through which more than 70,000 migrants have already crossed in 2024 on their journey to the United States, “has no reason to exist.”
More than 520,000 migrants crossed the Darien jungle in 2023 . The most frequent nationalities to cross were Venezuelans (328,667); Ecuadorians (57,222); Haitians (46,558); and Chinese (25,344), according to data from the Panamanian Ministry of Public Security.
There is no precise data on how many people die in this jungle, where travelers face the wild environment and also criminal groups that commit assaults and rapes. According to reports offered by organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Doctors Without Borders, violence has increased significantly in recent months. Between January and February 2024, 328 reports of sexual violence were registered, compared to 676 reports in all of 2023.
The Panamanian authorities generally maintain a h