Darien is Panama’s largest and poorest province. Bordering Colombia, the province hosts a 60-mile-deep jungle, the only breaking point of the Pan-American Highway, linking the continent from south to north. Darien is a transit location for thousands of refugees and migrants, most of them coming from Haiti, Venezuela, Cuba, and African and South Asian nations.
According to official statistics of the Panamanian National Migration Service (SNM), from 2010 to 2020 some 120,000 people crossed through this area. In 2021 and 2022, Panama faced an unprecedented mixed movement crisis, with nearly 400,000 people making this perilous journey through the jungle. In 2022, a total of 248,284 people entered the country irregularly through Darien.
Before they arrived at the Darien jungle, many of these refugees and migrants had previously crossed multiple countries often through unofficial border crossings, resulting in increased protection risks. These vulnerabilities were further exacerbated, during their journey through the jungle, by many risks and incidents which include, but are not limited to, thefts, physical and sexual attacks, murder, and extortion. Many of these refugees and migrants were also undocumented, limiting their access to basic services.
Due to protection concerns, in July 2022, UNHCR started collecting monthly information on the characteristics, vulnerabilities, and protection needs of refugees and migrants entering Panama through the Darien jungle.
