According to the statistics of the National Migration Service (SNM) of Panama, published at the beginning of the month, only in the first four months of 2023, more than 127,000 people crossed from Colombia to reach the Darién jungle and end their journey in USA. This occurs in the middle of the first days of the new Title 8, which would be causing a decrease in illegal crossings from Mexico, although the US authorities affirm that it is too early to draw conclusions.
According to Mexico and the United States, one could bet on an irregular decrease in migration due to the new border stage between the two countries, although a recent publication by the EFE news agency showed that many migrants would be giving up continuing their route until the North not because of the new Title 8 measures, but because of the abuses to which they are subjected by the Central American immigration authorities.
During the year 2022, the Colombian Ombudsman’s Office warned that the border with Panama was on its way to becoming an epicenter of the migration crisis affecting the American continent. At this stage of the migratory flow, we usually talk about the dangers that immigrants face by criminal gangs that operate in the jungle, the weather conditions or the fauna, although little is mentioned about the abuse that various migratory organizations to which they are subjected. .
From sexual abuse, xenophobia and physical abuse are mentioned by those who decided not to continue on their way to Costa Rica from the end of the Darien Jungle in Panama. The Venezuelan migrant, Johnny Sánchez, told the EFE news agency that during his crossing, the Panamanian Border Police wanted to sexually abuse a woman who crossed the jungle with him. “They wanted to abuse her, they even touched parts of her body to see if she had money (…) They hit my brother on her ribs. They pushed us and that, because we had no money to give them,” said the Venezuelan who was a policeman in his country.
An investigation by the United Nations Organization (UN), and published in February, affirms that the women who crossed the Darién are victims of sexual abuse by the authorities of the National Migration Service (SNM) and the National Border Service ( senafront). The Panamanian immigration personnel would have requested sexual exchanges from the women and girls housed in Immigration Reception Stations.
In addition, in exchange for sexual services, the migration employees promised the victims to put them on the buses coordinated by the Panamanian authorities so that they can continue their journey to the border with Costa Rica. Many of the immigrants surveyed by EFE have decided to return to Colombia or Venezuela due to the abuses they suffered during the journey through the Darién.
The Venezuelan Yorgenis José Hernández, 30 years old and father of three daughters, affirmed that he will return to Colombia, where he has lived for years with his family, due to the treatment he received. “I came because I was very disappointed, they treated me very badly on that side and they did not give me food, they did not let me bathe, nothing, and I decided to come (…) I decided to leave because they treated me very badly during the 22 days that I lasted and I was just starting said the traveler.
With information from EFE and Acnur
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