Migrant smugglers threaten Panama’s conservation plans in Darién

Panama has announced an initiative to combat environmental degradation in the Darién Gap, but deep-rooted criminal groups in the region will make it difficult to implement these measures.

Panamanian Environment Minister Juan Carlos Navarro announced on September 13 new measures to protect Darién National Park, part of a 100-kilometre-long jungle strip along the Panama-Colombia border, one of America’s busiest arteries for migrants.

“Deforestation, pollution and ecosystem change are some of the most serious impacts caused by unplanned mass migration,” Navarro said.

On the Colombian side of the divide, the Gaitanistas (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia – AGC), one of Colombia’s most powerful criminal groups, have taken advantage of the large number of migrants by taxing businesses that profit from migrants, such as hotels, restaurants and boat rental companies. companies.

SEE ALSO: Colombia’s AGC extorts profits from control of a major migration bottleneck

The situation on the Panamanian side of the divide is more chaotic, with small Panamanian gangs taking advantage of migrants’ vulnerability to kidnap and rob.

Navarro announced that the government has begun creating controlled migration routes to limit the environmental impacts of migration to specific areas, while implementing reforestation, waste collection and rural development projects.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro later said publicly that his government would support these efforts.

Increased insecurity in Latin America and the Caribbean and beyond, as well as a lack of regular migration options, have pushed more and more migrants through Darién. More than 500,000 migrants passed through the area in 2023, a record according to figures from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

InSight crime analysis

Darien criminal groups, through their involvement in migrant smuggling and environmental crimes, pose a formidable obstacle to Panama’s new conservation measures.

The move to create managed migration routes to limit environmental damage could further endanger migrants. Panamanian gangs that target migrant groups for extortion, robbery and kidnapping may be better able to achieve their goals if migrants are routed through planned routes.

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In addition, criminal groups may not allow migrants to use the government-controlled routes. On the Colombian side of the border, the AGC has created specific migrant routes and punished those who attempt to cross outside these routes. This has made the migration more profitable for the group as they can charge higher prices and ensure that all service providers pay.

To prevent a similar phenomenon on the Panama side, authorities will have to increase security for migrants in addition to the new conservation measures, but details about the security measures remain unclear.

Further challenging the authorities’ conservation goals are other environmental crimes in Panama’s Darién, especially illegal mining. Authorities have uncovered a number of illegal mining sites polluting the surrounding ecosystem, some of which were under the control of the AGC.

Featured image: Environment Minister Juan Carlos Navarro announces new measures to protect the Darién National Park. Credit: Panama Ministry of Environment