Panama has told the UN that it does not have enough resources to deal with the migratory avalanche in El Darién, reports La Estrella De Panamá on May 24.
More than 520,000 people were reported to have arrived in Panama in transit to North America in 2023. In 2024, 160,000 people crossed dangerous border jungles. The migration crisis has reportedly cost the Central American country some $70 million in recent years.
The Panamanian government told the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) on May 23 that it does not have the resources to deal with the large influx of illegal immigrants entering the country through the Darien.
“We do not have the resources to deal with this number of illegal immigrants and we have reported this to the IOM, they understand this and we are very happy that we can work together to reduce the flow of immigrants.”– Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha told reporters.
The foreign minister said that Panama wants to “reduce the flow of migrants.”
“Of course there will be illegal immigrants, but the numbers we are seeing now are unbearable, we cannot cope with these numbers and President Mulino is committed to reducing this flow. The ideal would be to close the border, but on a border like this it is very difficult. “We will fight for this.””Martínez-Acha commented.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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