By Laura Gamba and Beyza Binnur Donmez
BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - More than 30,000 migrant children crossed the Panamanian Darien jungle on their way to the US in the first four months of 2024, a 40% increase compared to the same period last year, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Wednesday.
Nearly 2,000 children arrived in Panama unaccompanied or separated from their families, a number that has tripled since the beginning of 2023.
UNICEF estimates that at the current rate, as many as 800,000 people, including 160,000 children and adolescents, could cross the jungle in 2024.
The number of children in transit is growing five-times faster than the number of adults.
“The Darien Gap is no place for children. Many children have died on this arduous, dangerous journey. Women have given birth while en route, bringing new life into the world in the most challenging of circumstances,” said UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban.
More than 150,000 migrants have crossed the Darien Gap in 2024, most coming from Venezuela, Haiti, Ecuador and Colombia, but there are also migrants from Asia, China and Africa crossing the treacherous rainforest.
Panamanian President-elect Jose Raul Mulino pledged to deport migrants who enter the country through the Darien Gap.
“Those from there (referring to people in South American nations) and those who would like to come should know that whoever arrives here will return to their country of origin. Our Darien is not a transit route, no sir, that is our border,” said Mulino, the 64-year-old right-wing lawyer who will assume power July 1.
The dense jungle region bordering Colombia and Panama has become a dangerous corridor for migrants seeking passage to the US.
The 165-mile (265-kilometer) stretch of jungle is known for a multitude of dangers, including wild animals, harsh terrains and criminal groups that control the area and impose fear through violence, sexual exploitation and death.
"The stories we hear from children and parents who have made the journey are incredibly harrowing,” said Chaiban.