Panama dismantles ‘VIP’ Chinese migrant route in Darien jungle

Panama dismantles ‘VIP’ Chinese migrant route in Darien jungle

By Juan José Rodríguez

Meteti, Panama (AFP) August 7, 2024

Panamanian border police on Wednesday arrested 15 people linked to a criminal organization that smuggled Chinese migrants through the Darien jungle via a less arduous “VIP route.”

The arrests were made in the city of Santa Fe, near the town of Meteti in Darien Province, Panama’s border region with Colombia, a region covered in dense jungle that is crossed by hundreds of thousands of migrants en route to the United States.

More than half a million people passed through the so-called Darien Gap in 2023, where migrants face dangers including fast-flowing river waters, wild animals and criminal gangs that rob, rape and murder people passing through the lawless forest.

But the “VIP route” — which used all-terrain vehicles and even horses — sped up the sometimes week-long journey, at least for those who could afford it.

This year, more than 220,000 people have crossed the jungle, mainly Venezuelan migrants, but also people from Ecuador, Colombia, Haiti and China.

According to local prosecutor Emeldo Marquez, the latter groups were the main migrants who paid to use the “VIP route” facilitated by the criminal gang.

He attributed this to their generally higher purchasing power compared to other migrant groups.

“It is a route called ‘VIP’ because it offers them the opportunity to travel faster than the route used by other migrants,” Marquez told AFP.

According to Panamanian government data, the number of Chinese migrants crossing the Darien Gap has increased dramatically in recent years, from 296 between 2010 and 2019 to 12,000 in 2024.

According to Marquez, the “VIP route” cost between $2,600 and $8,000 per person and was used to help more than 700 migrants through Panama.

The route was different from the usual trails through the Darien Gap, which can take five to eight days.

Instead, the migrants left the towns of Capurgana or Necocli on the Colombian coast and traveled by sea to the villages of Carreto or Caledonia in Panama.

From there they crossed the jungle in an average of two days, using various means of transport such as canoes, horses and even four-wheel drives.

The normal route costs about US$500 per person.

All 15 suspects arrested were Panamanians, although Marquez claimed they worked for Colombian gangs.

If found guilty, someone faces a prison sentence of 15 to 20 years.

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