Nearly 250,000 migrants crossed Panama’s Darien Gap so far this year, more than in all of 2022

PANAMA CITY (AP) — The number of migrants crossing Panama’s dangerous, jungle-clad Darien Gap has swelled to almost 250,000 in the first seven months of 2023, surpassing the number that crossed in all of 2022. It is a record pace of migration through the gap, which connects South America to Central America. The surge comes despite an agreement announced in April between the United States, Colombia and Panama to offer alternatives to migration. The United Nations projects that if the pace keeps up, as many as 400,000 may cross the gap by the year’s end.