Written by: Abigail Francis
Edited by: Gabrielle Adams
Photo By Federico Rios
Migration rates are at record high levels: the global number of international migrants reached 304 million in 2024, nearly doubling since 1990. Many leave South America, escaping humanitarian crises or political instability with the hope of reaching the United States or Canada. Migrants travelling overland from South America to the US border must pass through the Darién Gap, an extensive and dense jungle located between the Panama-Colombia border that serves as the only break on the Pan-American Highway and marks the separation between South and Central America. This section on migrants’ journey consists of more than sixty miles of rainforest, mountainous terrain, and vast swamps. The territory is also fraught with potential encounters with wild animals and criminal organizations that operate freely in the absence of governmental authorities. Because of this, the Darién Gap is one of the most challenging and dangerous areas along this migratory path that half a million migrants (520,000) contended with in 2023, including 50,000 children under the age of 5; numbers 337% higher than those of 2021. This article examines the historical, political and humanitarian dimensions of the Darién Gap and the policy response from both Panama and the US, as well as the broader implications these have on global inequality.
The Darién Gap has long posed a great challenge for migrants undertaking this route. Efforts to overcome this natural barrier date back to 1923, when the idea of linking the Americas by road was first proposed at the Fifth International Conference of American States. Then, in 1937, Canada, the U.S. and 12 Latin American states signed the Convention on the Pan-American Highway, each committing to building a road from Alaska to Patagonia. For the most part, the project progressed as intended; however, no plans for any viable route could be thought of through the Darién Gap due to the extreme terrain, but despite this, ideas to complete the project remained in circulation. By the 1960s, the highway increasingly came to be viewed as a symbol of U.S. imperialism in South America and, in the context of rising environmental consciousness from US capitalistic exploitation, the Sierra Club sued the U.S. Department of Transportation in 1977, arguing that the road through the Darién Gap could have devastating effects on the environment and the Indigenous communities living in the region, such as Chocó (the Emberá and Wounaan, or Waunana) and the Kuna (Cuna). And so, the road was never built, making this the only break in the highway and a major challenge for those who come upon it.
Crossing the Darién gap is no easy feat; many pay to be led through by local guides or “coyotes.” Routes vary in cost, depending on the route’s length and difficulty; it is not uncommon for migrants to pay several thousand U.S. dollars for a quicker journey. One threat faced by migrants is the influx of smugglers and criminal groups because of the lack of authorities in the area; these include members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the Gulf Clan, a paramilitary group and Colombia’s largest drug cartel. As a result, sexual violence and robberies also surge along the passage. Doctors Without Borders has treated more than 200 survivors of sexual violence in 2023, most of whom were women and girls. These numbers remain largely underrepresented due to the many instances that go unreported. Safety concerns, however, tell only part of the story; the journey also exposes migrants to severe health risks.
Access to healthcare during the journey is slim, and as migration rates continue to grow, healthcare resources in the areas have failed to keep pace. In fact, in 2022, at least 36 people died on the route, due to the challenges the jungle poses on those who traverse it, a “small fraction” of the unrecorded lives lost, according to the International Organization for Migration. Malnutrition and disease represent another threat to migrants. While people often bring food, gear, tents and water into the jungle, these items are heavy, forcing people to abandon them during the journey or limiting the amount of supplies they can carry. Furthermore, people often run out of fresh water after a day or two, relying on water from the rivers in the area for the rest of the trip, making migrants sick from water-borne bacteria. As these health crises deepen, they intersect with shifting political agendas and border enforcement strategies that seek to control, rather than alleviate, the movement of people through the Darién Gap.
In July 2024, newly elected Panamanian President José Mulino announced his plan to decrease migratory crossings in and through Panama. He said that US officials would begin training Panamanian personnel to screen and deport migrants who enter the country illegally. In March 2025, President Mulino executed on this plan, stating that the government had “closed [the] operation.” Indeed, from January to March of 2025, only 2,831 people crossed the Darién, a 98% decrease compared to the previous year. However, this ‘closure’ has its drawbacks. Humanitarian aid programs for physical and mental health crises around the Darien Gap have had their US funding drastically cut, and up to 65% of the staff in the area have been fired. Furthermore, reverse migration from the United States to South America has increased in response to President Trump’s newly implemented and stringent migration policies and practices. Another effect of these policies is that migrants who survive the atrocities in their journey from South America to North America are at risk of being deported or refused entry upon arrival at the border.
Migration through the Darién Gap is unlikely to cease and may even increase again in the coming years. The route is already used as a last resort for many, but attempting to dissuade asylum seekers from crossing is still unlikely to deter all. Rather than resorting to border closures as a simplistic and inefficient “solution” to what is being framed as a migrant burden, many advocates urge that the US and other countries should prioritize the expansion of legal and safe migration pathways instead. Echoing this, advocates in South America have called to bolster access to asylum and refugee status for people fleeing persecution and violence in unstable countries. The dangers of the Darién Gap lie in both its treacherous terrain and the broader systems of inequality and policy that make such crossing a necessity. Confronting this crisis requires humanitarian support throughout the journey, but also a fundamental rethinking of migration governance across the Americas.