LatinNews Daily - 06 December 2022

*The US ambassador in Panama, Mari Carmen Aponte, has said that the US government assigned around US$18m in 2022 for humanitarian assistance for refugees and vulnerable migrants in Panama. She said that the amount was four times higher than that received by Panama in 2021 (US$4m), noting that these funds are provided to international organisations with humanitarian assistance programmes in Panama such as the United Nations agencies, High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Children’s Fund (Unicef), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) as well as the Pan-American Development Foundation (FUPAD), which is a partner of the Organization of American States (OAS). Aponte made her comments while visiting the border area of Darién to hear first-hand the challenges of irregular migration. A dense jungle, the Darién Gap is the land bridge connecting Panama and Colombia which has seen record migration. In September, the number of people crossing rose to some 2,000 daily, and throughout October authorities registered the highest number of irregular entries ever in Panama, with over 4,000 persons crossing daily. However, after the US announced, a new policy for Venezuelans on 12 October, the mixed movements in Darién shifted substantially, and within a period of 15 days, the numbers decreased to as low as 400 people crossing daily.

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