Migrants Traversing Darien Gap Plummet 40% As Panama Cracks Down On Major Route; Inside the Plan to Halt U.S.-Bound Migrants at the Treacherous Darién Gap

NY POST: Migrants traversing Darien Gap plummet 40% as Panama cracks down on major route:

The number of migrants traversing the treacherous Darien Gap in the hopes of making it to the United States has plummeted as Panama’s right-wing President José Raúl Mulino cracks down on the major migration route.

Crossings through the 70-mile stretch of jungle — the only land bridge between South and Central America — dropped by 40% this year to about 300,000, the country’s Security Minister Frank Abrego told the Wall Street Journal.

Mulino, who took office in July, had vowed to curb illegal immigration, with his government quickly signing an agreement with the US to crack down on migration through the Darien Gap. Under the deal, the US agreed to “cover” the costs of repatriating migrants who enter Panama illegally.

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

“We want the Trump administration to realize that its border is actually here at the Darien Gap and to see how complicated that area is,” Mulino told the Journal.

“We are still concerned,” he said.

Last year alone, human smugglers helped more than 530,000 migrants navigate the remote jungle route on their way through the country.

The notable decline is thanks in large part to the country beefing up their security measures to include biometric screening — which makes it easier for border agents to identify those with criminal histories.

These numbers are promising, but ex-border chiefs previously told The Post it came more than three years too late thanks to the disastrous “border czar” reign of Vice President Kamala Harris. —>READ MORE HERE

WSJ: Inside the Plan to Halt U.S.-Bound Migrants at the Treacherous Darién Gap:

In a small tropical forest valley with crystal-clear streams close to the Colombian border, the soldiers of Panama’s militarized border patrol are busy building fences.

Their mission: close off jungle trails that human smugglers used to ferry 520,000 migrants last year on their way from South America to the U.S. via the treacherous Darién Gap—a 70-mile stretch of jungle without roads, electricity or industry.

The initiative is part of a broad push by Panama’s pro-American president, José Raúl Mulino, to tackle border security and mass migration since he was elected last summer. One of Mulino’s first acts as president in July was an agreement with the U.S. for funding to deport migrants crossing the jungle. He is hoping that President-elect Donald Trump will continue U.S. support for Panama’s efforts to control immigration.

“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. While migration flows have fallen sharply this year, they can quickly rise again, he said. “We are still concerned.”

During a historic surge of northbound migration in recent years, human traffickers opened new paths through the Darién Gap, a rainforest so impenetrable that efforts to colonize it and build roads through it were never successful. Once migrants trekked through the jungle, they would be taken by bus through Panama to Costa Rica and so on. Many governments along the way provide transportation to the next border to move them.

Mulino is trying to end the trek in Panama. The troop deployment and razor wire fences are designed to funnel migrants along a single path through the jungle, which the government says will make their movements easier to track and create safer conditions for them. It will also make it easier for Panama to identify people who can be quickly deported.

Panama’s relations with Trump are off to a rocky start. On social media and in speeches, Trump said the U.S. should take back control of the Panama Canal, built by the U.S. more than a century ago but given to Panama almost 25 years ago under a treaty. Mulino has said Panama’s stewardship of the canal isn’t on the table.

“One thing has nothing to do with the other,” he said in a written response to questions on Monday. “Our desire has always been and will continue to be to maintain a fruitful alliance with the U.S. The immigration issue is a situation that must be solved for the benefit of both the U.S. and Panama, and we will continue to be willing to work hand in hand with our North American allies.”

Mulino is confident that Trump will be open to helping Panama deport migrants. Already his administration has sent home almost 2,000 migrants, mostly Colombians and Ecuadoreans.

Jungle crossings have dropped 40% this year to about 300,000, said Security Minister Frank Abrego. That’s in part because of the use of biometric systems to spot people with criminal records who can be quickly deported. In the past six months, the government has sent about 40 flights filled with deported migrants back to countries as far away as India. —>READ MORE HERE (or HERE)

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