Migrant traffic through the infamous Darién Gap in Panama — a 60-odd-mile of trackless jungle we’ve discussed many times — has been reduced by a whopping 99%, according to Panama’s Migrant Authority.
The Authority says it recorded only 408 migrants passing through the Darién Gap during February 2025, compared with 37,166 migrants logged during February 2024. That represents a 98.9-percent drop in one year.
Of the 408, the Authority recorded 151 Venezuelan nationals, 43 Cameroonians, 22 Bangladeshi, 21 Colombians, 17 Iranians, and 16 Nepalese nationals, with the remainder nationals of various other Latin American, African, and Asian nations.
For years, the Gap has been a corridor for millions of migrants from around the world on their way to the US border. A record total of 520,085 migrants crossed through the Gap in 2023, compared with 248,284 in 2022 and 133,726 during 2021. An average of 33,510 migrants per month passed through it between January and June 2024.
The traffic began to drop in the latter half of 2024 after conservative President José Raúl Mulino took office in July. The government has since enacted a series of policies that have reduced the traffic. In addition to Panama’s policies, the traffic dramatically plummeted with the election of President Trump. Now, officials are noticing a trend to reverse migration southward. More than 2,000 south-bound migrants entered Panama through its border with Costa Rica during February 2025.
Shutting down traffic through the Darién Gap is a major success story in the efforts to deal with illegal immigration into the United States. It needs to stay shut-down.
For more, see Breitbart News.