The treacherous Darien Gap, once a bustling corridor for hundreds of thousands of US-bound migrants, has fallen eerily silent under President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, with crossings dropping by more than 99 per cent compared to last year’s figures.
Just 408 migrants traversed the perilous 60-mile jungle passage between Colombia and Panama in February 2025, according to Panama’s Migration Authority. This represents a staggering decline from the 37,166 people who made the crossing in February 2024.
The dramatic reduction has transformed once-crowded migrant reception centres into ghost towns. At Lajas Blancas, a key transit point in Panama that previously processed over 1,000 migrants daily, barely 10 people now arrive each week.
“Effectively, the border with Darien is closed,” Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino declared last month. “The problem we had in Lajas Blancas eliminated.”
The shutdown represents a remarkable reversal from recent years. More than 520,000 migrants crossed through the dangerous jungle in 2023, whilst approximately 300,000 made the journey in 2024, according to Panamanian authorities.
Deadly Passage Claims Lives
Despite the reduced numbers, the Darien Gap continues to exact a deadly toll. Panamanian officials reported 55 migrant deaths in 2024, with 180 children abandoned in the jungle—some orphaned after their relatives died or became lost during the crossing.
“Many bodies cannot be recovered from the jungle,” President Mulino acknowledged during a December press conference, suggesting the actual death toll may be significantly higher.
The dense rainforest, steep ravines and crocodile-infested rivers have long made the Darien Gap one of the world’s most dangerous migration routes. The region lacks roads, bridges or mobile phone coverage, leaving migrants vulnerable to flash floods, venomous creatures and criminal gangs.
Trump Effect Reaches Central America
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson attributed the dramatic decline directly to Trump administration policies. Word of the United States’ secure border has spread so far around the world, that migrants aren’t even willing to make the dangerous journey to get here because they know they’ll be turned away,” Jackson told media outlets.
“For the last two months, Border Patrol released zero illegal aliens into the United States,” Jackson added. “That’s a stat known all the way from here to the Darien Gap.”
Todd Bensman, senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, confirmed the Trump administration’s impact after speaking with Panamanian officials. When asked why migration had plummeted, a senior official gave him a one-word answer: “Trump.”
The policy changes have created what experts describe as a “reverse migration” trend, with some migrants who had travelled north now returning to their home countries via boat along Panama’s Caribbean coast.
Economic Devastation for Local Communities
The migration collapse has devastated indigenous villages that had become economically dependent on the constant flow of travellers. In Bajo Chiquito, a village of 400 residents that serves as the first stop after the jungle crossing, businesses have ground to a halt.
“On a normal day I attended at least 100 people, even more,” Jason Mosquera, 25, a food vendor, told Spanish outlet EFE. “Now I only attend ten people a day, if anything, six people. It has dropped a lot.”
Local residents who invested their earnings in solar panels, water pumps and new homes now face an uncertain future. Zobeida Concepción, 55, whose family sold supplies to migrants, purchased freezers and began building a house with the income.
When Donald Trump won, everything came to a screeching halt,” she said, adding that most vendors have packed up and headed to Panama City seeking work.
Shifting Demographics and Routes
Before the dramatic decline, Venezuelan nationals comprised the largest group crossing the Darien Gap, representing 69 per cent of migrants in 2024. The surge followed Venezuela’s contested presidential election and ongoing economic turmoil.
Chinese nationals, who had established “VIP” routes through the jungle, also disappeared from crossing statistics. Whilst nearly 3,000 Chinese migrants crossed in January 2024, only five were recorded in January 2025, with zero crossings reported in February.
Diana Romero, a UNICEF specialist in Panama, expressed particular concern about unaccompanied minors before the crossings ceased. The number of children travelling alone had increased from 3,000 in 2023 to 4,476 in 2024.
Regional Response and Future Uncertainty
The Biden administration had previously attempted to address the crisis through diplomatic channels, providing Panama with approximately $6 million to help manage migration flows. The US also established Safe Mobility Offices in several Latin American countries to offer legal migration alternatives.
However, experts warn the current lull may prove temporary. Boston College law professor Daniel Kanstroom suggested the dramatic reduction reflects migrants and smuggling networks adopting a wait-and-see approach to Trump’s policies.
“We’ve seen this for decades. It’s just episodic,” Kanstroom said. “It’ll go back up again, because the forces that move people north have not changed. It’s a temporary low.”
Manuel Orozco, director of the migration programme at the Inter-American Dialogue, likened the economic impact on local communities to a gold rush that suddenly dried up. “It’s like you’ve discovered a gold mine, but once it dries up… you either leave the area and go to the city or stay living in poverty.”
As the Darien Gap falls silent, the broader implications of this migration shift continue to reverberate across the Americas, from remote Panamanian villages to the halls of power in Washington.
Follow for more updates on Britannia Daily
Image Credit:
Jungle path in the Darién Gap – Image by Ejrrjs, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
View Image
