Migrant Flow Through The Darien Strait Falls By 95% So Far In 2025, Marking A Historic Drop

(MENAFN- Costa Rica News) The flow of irregular migrants entering through the dangerous Darien jungl , the natural border between Panama and Colombia, marked a“historic” drop of 95% so far this year, compared to the same period in 2024, according to official data released this Saturday by the National Migration Service (SNM).

“The entry of irregular migrants into Panama has had a significant decrease of 94%, a historic figure as of January 31, 2025, compared to the same period in 2024,” the SNM highlighted on its social networks.

According to the comparative figures offered by the entity, in the month of January a total of 2,158 migrants entered through Darién, compared to the 34,839 who did so in the same period of 2024.

A“historic” figure

The“historic” figure is released by the Panamanian authorities a few hours before the arrival in the country of the Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubi , who is scheduled to meet on Sunday with the Panamanian president, José Raúl Mulino, to discuss the immigration issue or the controversy over the Panama Canal, after Trump threatened to“recover” the interoceanic route due to alleged Chinese influence.

A report released by the Panamanian Government this week detailed that 1,881 migrants were deported or expelled from Panama in the last five months, as part of the collaboration with the United States Government after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two countries.

The agreement, signed on July 1 by Panama and the United States, the same day Mulino took office, provides for the repatriation by air and based on Panamanian laws of irregular migrants who have arrived in the Central American country, with the United States financing the flights. Since the signing of this agreement, there have been more than 40 flights with deported or expelled migrants.

Precisely, hours before leaving Panama on Monday to begin a tour that will take him to other countries in the region, the United States Secretary of State will attend one of these deportation flights, this time of Colombians.

Humanitarian corridor

The Panamanian government, which took power on July 1 for the five-year period 2024-2029, links the drop in migratory traffic to measures such as the closure of roads in the jungle to enable a single“humanitarian corridor,” the application of fines for entering the country illegally, the rainy season in recent months, and the deportation flight program financed by the United States.

These restrictions have been in force since last year, which ended with 300,549 migrants arriving in Panama after crossing the Darien, 41% less than the record figure of 511,103 in 2023, according to official statistics cited on January 2 by the Panamanian president in an accountability report to Parliament.

In addition, according to Panamanian statistics, at least 55 migrants died in the jungle for different reasons, including assaults, animal attacks, illness or fatigue, a figure that could be“double” given the difficulty of finding bodies in that dangerous jungle.-

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