Migrant Flow Through Darien Gap Drops 40% As Panama Closes Trails With Wired Fences

The strategies implemented by the Panamanian government to reduce the flow of migration through the Darien Gap seem to finally be paying off.

On top of deportation flights, the country has set up razor wire fences and deployed troops to funnel migrants along a single path through the 70-mile stretch. By doing this, Panamanian officials say it is easier to track and create safer conditions for migrants traveling towards the U.S, facilitating identifying people who can be quickly deported.

Last year, 520,000 migrants traveled through the treacherous jungle path, a record figure. But according to Security Minister Frank Abrego, the number has dropped 40% in 2024 to about 300,000.

Earlier this year, Jorge Gobea, head of Senafront, Costa Rica's militarized border patrol force, said that about three miles of barbed wire were built along five trails to channel migrants into a "humanitarian corridor."

"We closed more than five clandestine routes which were used by organized crime to mobilize migrants from Colombia to Panama. The intention was to channel this flow, not to interrupt it, but to send them through one sole route," he said.

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, who has vowed to tackle border security and mass migration since being elected last summer, has also reached an agreement with the U.S. for funding to deport migrants crossing the Darien Gap. The government has sent about 40 flights filled with deported migrants back to countries in Africa and Asia over the past six months.

But despite the significant drop in crossings, Mulino stressed that the numbers could creep up again without ongoing U.S. support.

Recent comments from Trump about how the U.S. should take back control of the Panama Canal are threatening to strain the relationship between both countries. But despite the potential tension, Mulino believes the Trump administration will be open to continue providing funding for deportation flights.

"We want the Trump administration to realize that its border is actually here at the Darién Gap and to see how complicated that area is," Mulino said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. "While migration flows have fallen sharply this year, they can quickly rise again, he said. "We are still concerned."

Although the noise generated about Trump's Panama Canal comments, Mulino says his desire is to "maintain a fruitful alliance with the U.S." as the immigration issue must be solved for the benefit of both countries.

Earlier this year, the U.S. pledged $6 million in funding for migrant repatriations from the Central American nation in hopes of reducing irregular crossings at its own southern border.

The agreement also included U.S. support for Panama with equipment, transportation, and logistics for foreigners detected within migratory flows that violate Panamanian immigration laws.

Deaths and abandonments along the Darien Gap

Mulino said that Panamanian authorities have recovered 55 bodies from the jungle in 2024, with most of the victims drowned by powerful river currents. Although officials say the death toll may be higher as many bodies cannot be recovered from the jungle.

The death toll included the 10 victims that drowned in July while trying to cross a swollen river during the wet season.

On top of the deaths, Mulino said that 180 unaccompanied minors were found by authorities along the jungle. According to advocacy groups and international organizations, some of the children were alone because their relatives died or got lost, while others were simply traveling unaccompanied.