Travel through that 60-odd-mile stretch of jungle in Panama called the Darien Gap has seen explosive growth in the past four years, according to statistics released by the Panamanian government. The total treks through the region between 2010 and 2020 were only 115,758. Contrast that with the 1.18 million that have come through just since 2021. What’s more, the number of migrants from “special interest” homelands has exploded as well: the number of natives of Afghanistan, for example, passing through the gap between 2010 and 2020, came to only 98, while during 2021-2024 a whopping 8,294 have come through, a 8,363% increase. Similarly, Chinese nationals increased from 299 to 39,921; Iranians increased from 14 to 935; and Syrians increased from 28 to 762.
Overall, between 2021-2024, at least 760,000 nationals trekking through the Gap were identified as having come from “special interest” countries, including those with links to Hezbollah and other terrorist groups.
Addressing the influx of Chinese last year, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) said: “There have been numerous documented instances of Chinese nationals, at the direction of the CCP, engaging in espionage, stealing military and economic secrets.”
Afghan nationals as well have attracted attention, most recently when authorities uncovered an Election Day plot being planned by an Afghan national who had been admitted to the US after America’s retreat from Kabul in 2021.
Though the overall numbers going through the Gap remain high (so far in 2024, 286,000), they have come down from the peak year of 2023, when more than 520,000 passed through. Panama has a new president who had campaigned on ending illegal migration through the area, and a new agreement with Washington seems to be having some effect. But half a million per year, almost all of whom are admitted by the Biden government, remains way too many. By about a half million.
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