‘It Is Human Torture, and They’re Abusing People’: The Brutal Smuggling Game Along the Darien Gap

PUERTO LIMON, Panama – A massive spike of migrants crossed the Darien Gap here in Panama last year with nearly 250,000 men, women, and children from 150 countries making the perilous journey. There were 36 recorded deaths, but many more simply disappear. Rather than trying to shut down the dangerous route, U.S. officials are making changes that will bring even more people to the U.S. illegally each year.

Not long after sunup on the steamy Panamanian side of the Darien Gap, dugout canoes make their way downriver to a tiny tribal village. The dugouts aren’t carrying locals, however. They are packed with migrants from all over the world, whose destination is the U.S. southern border.

Recent policy changes the Biden administration allow 120,000 migrants per month to skip this challenging trek by pre-registering using a new mobile app. Even so, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas maintains the goal is not to stop migrants from entering the U.S.