Report: Colombia, Panama Not Helping Migrants in Darien Gap

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Facts

• Human Rights Watch (HRW) claimed on Wednesday that Colombia and Panama have failed to protect hundreds of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers traveling northbound through the dangerous Darién Gap.¹
• The rights group claimed in a 110-page report that 1.5K cases of sexual violence have been reported since 2021 along the key corridor for migrants, accusing both countries of not doing enough to hold perpetrators accountable.²
• HRW has urged them to coordinate a humanitarian response to improve security and allow more assistance from international groups in the thick rainforest, which has no roads.³
• The organization further exhorted Panama specifically to reconsider its recent decision to block the medical charity Doctors Without Borders from its territory.³
• Meanwhile, Colombia has been called on to prosecute the drug cartel Gulf Clan, which allegedly controls the Colombian side of the jungle and charges as much as $125 per migrant crossing into Panama.⁴
• This report comes days after Panama announced that over 109K irregular migrants passed through the Gap in the first quarter of 2024, up from around 87.3K during the same period in 2023 — the year when an all-time high of 520K individuals was recorded.⁵

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²barrons.com, ³Los Angeles Times, ⁴Associated Press and ⁵Ticotimes.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by Human Rights Watch. After several visits to the Darién Gap and interviews with migrants and government officials, HRW has revealed the extent of the horrors those on their way to a better life have to face in Darién Gap. No matter their reason for making this trek, it's the duty of Panama and Colombia to provide them with basic necessities like food, water, and healthcare. Allowing violent smugglers to bring migrants through the jungle is neither efficient nor moral.
• Right narrative, as provided by cis.org. All the humanitarian rhetoric coming from governments and NGOs is a facade to hide their true goal — encouraging as many illegal immigrants as possible to reach the US border. It seems that the US has sent hundreds of millions of dollars to Panama and Colombia not to help stop these waves of migrants — who are coming from as near as Haiti and as far as China — but to help those governments guide these illegal convoys more efficiently on their way to the US.

Predictions