By mid-December 2022, 236 000 irregular migrants had crossed the border through the Darien jungle, according to the National Migration Service. Photo: Twitter/@_NewsCentral​​​

Panama City, December 22 (RHC)-- The director of Panama's National Migration Service (SNM), Samira Gozaine, said that the country is expected to close with more than 240,000 irregular migrants in 2022.

Gozaine told the press that the number of irregular immigrants who have crossed the border through the Darien Jungle this year exceeds the 133,716 travelers registered the previous year by more than 100,000.  This is a significant increase, she said, because 236,000 migrants had passed through the country by mid-December 2022, according to figures from the National Migration Service.

The official referred to the cost incurred by the country in a migration crisis of this type.  Nearly 50 million dollars have been earmarked to help migrants, Gozaine said.  

The director of the National Migration Service of Panama, Samira Gozaine, indicated that the entry of migrants through the Darién jungle is increasing.   The Darien National Park, located in the province of Darien, Panama, is a protected park since 1988 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).  

The SNM director said that the ecological damage to the rainforest by increased migration is considerable.  In this regard, Gozaine warned that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is taking action on the matter in view of the migration policies to be adopted next year. 

Gozaine said that international confrontation and denunciation of the human trafficking that takes place on this route used to reach the United States has intensified.