PANAMA CITY, June 11 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — Samira Gozaine, director of the National Migration Service of Panama, advocated diplomatic efforts to curb the flows that today exceed the figure of 170,000 people on their way to the United States.
She admitted in declarations to the newspaper La Prensa, that this is a regional issue and cited experiences of nations such as Brazil and Chile, with open sky policies that allow all migrants to arrive.
The most important thing is that international organizations must understand that the concept of human mobility does not apply, since there is nothing humanitarian here and we are doing a favor, in the trafficking of migrants, she remarked.
She also emphasized that closing the Darien jungle, in the eastern part of the country and bordering Colombia, is impossible due to its extension and the solution is that the countries that closed the border during the Covid-19 pandemic, do it again and that the countries should talk about how to provide a better future to these people.
Currently between 800 and 1,000 migrants are crossing every day, but what worries Gozaine the most is the increase of minors in the jungle.
During 2022 they counted 39,367 children, but this year (which is not even halfway through) they have already reported 33,868, according to the newspaper.
More than 600,000 people have passed through Panama since 2019 and each one pays in Colombia around 900 dollars, if you multiply it we will see that it is a big business, of which organized crime takes advantage, she said. — NNN-PRENSA LATINA