Panama disrupts human trafficking ring focused on Chinese migrants as crackdown increases

Panamanian authorities have arrested 15 people allegedly involved in running a human trafficking ring focused on getting Chinese migrants through the Darien Gap, the treacherous jungle path uniting Panama and Colombia that was used by over half a million people in their journey up north last year.

The presence of Chinese people has increased over the past years, becoming the fourth largest nationality when it comes to crossings in the area. However, recent actions throughout the region have been implemented to reduce the numbers.

In Panama, recently-inaugurated president José Raúl Mulino has been cracking down on migration at the general level, saying it has achieved results in just weeks. In late July, the National Border Service reported that 11,363 migrants crossed the border since the first day of the month, about 9,000 fewer than the same period last year.

Jorge Gobea, the director general of the National Border Service, attributed the reduction to the setting up of about 3 miles of barbed wire on 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"

Elsewhere, Ecuador suspended its visa waiver agreement with China following a surge of arrivals that authorities say then go on to migrate irregularly.

The country's Foreign Ministry called the trend "worrying" and said it noticed that about half of all arrivals from Chinese nationals to the country then didn't leave "through regular routes" within the 90 days they are allowed to stay under the agreement. The agreement had come into effect in 2016.

According to the U.S. Niskanen Center, Ecuadorian authorities recorded 48,381 arrivals in 2023 but records only show 24,240 departures. The disparity was the largest of all nationalities.

The majority of Chinese entrants to Ecuador are male and under 40 years old. This composition aligns with China's gender imbalance due to the one-child policy, where surplus men may seek opportunities abroad. Most migrants also belong to the middle or high-skilled professional category, indicating a certain economic capability and resourcefulness required for such journeys.

Ecuador is one of two countries in South America that didn't require a visa for Chinese nationals, the other one being Suriname. The announcement comes as people from China have become one of the top nationalities of migrants reaching the U.S. southern border through irregular means.

The U.S. has also been cracking down, conducting its first large deportation flight of Chinese nationals since 2018, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in early July.

The department added that it's working with authorities in Beijing to carry out more such flights as the amount of citizens who attempt to enter the country unlawfully has increased significantly over the past years.

China had long resisted receiving deportation flights, but the Biden administration for months engaged in high-level discussions aimed at bridging gaps to make it happen. According to the Associated Press, there were 116 nationals in the mentioned flight.

In 2023, U.S. authorities arrested more than 37,000 Chinese national at the southern border, more than 10 times than the previous year. In December alone, the figure almost reached 6,000. Most come from regions experiencing higher levels of political repression, with Hong Kong and Xinjiang featuring in the list, as well as Aksy and Altay.