The number of children crossing tthe dangerous jungle of Darienon the border between Panama and Colombia, aiming to reach the US increased sevenfold in January and February compared to the same period last year, Unicef ​​announced yesterday, Thursday.

“Our teams on the ground have never seen such a large number of children crossing the Panamanian jungle, alone or with their parents,” said Gary Connell, Unicef’s regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, based in Panama.

According to the UN agency, from January to February 2023, about 9,700 minors crossed the swampy and mountainous jungle of Darien, compared to 1,400 during the same period in 2022.

“This is the largest number that has ever been recorded within two months since records have been kept,” Unicef ​​added.

The increase in the number of immigrant children mainly due to inequalities and unemployment as well as the absence from school due to the pandemic, explained Laurent Divier, Unicef ​​consultant.

Besides, at least 200 children crossed the jungle alone in these two months, five times more than last year.

“This group worries us because the unaccompanied children are at increased risk to fall into the hands of networks of traffickers and criminals”, emphasized Divier.

In addition, these minors “are particularly vulnerable to violence, exploitation, child labor and various abuses”.

The jungle of Darien constitutes route of irregular migration from Latin America to the USA via Central America.

This forest of 5,750,000 acres dhas no road network, it is full of mosquitoes and reptiles, but also dangerous canyons, while it is ravaged by criminal organizations.

In January and February 2023, about 50,000 people, one in five of whom were minors, crossed the jungle. Throughout 2022, approximately 250,000 migrants made this dangerous journey.

The majority of these immigrants come from Haiti, Venezuela and Ecuador.