Migrant Smugglers Threaten Panama’s Darién Conservation Plans

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

Panama’s Environment Minister Juan Carlos Navarro announced on September 13 new measures to protect the Darién National Park, part of a 100-kilometer stretch of jungle straddling the Panama-Colombia border that is one of the Americas’ busiest thoroughfares for migrants.

“Deforestation, pollution, and the alteration of ecosystems are some of the most serious effects caused by unplanned mass migration,” Navarro said.

On the Colombian side of the gap, the Gaitanistas (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia – AGC), one of Colombia’s most powerful criminal groups, have profited off the large number of migrants by taxing businesses that profit off migrants, like hotels, restaurants, and boat companies.

SEE ALSO: Colombia’s AGC Squeezes Profits From Control Of Key Migration Choke Point

The situation on the Panamanian side of the gap is more chaotic, with small Panamanian gangs capitalizing on migrants’ vulnerabilities to kidnap and rob.

Navarro announced that the government has started to create controlled migration routes to limit the environmental impact of migration to specific areas, while also implementing reforestation, waste pick up, and rural development projects.

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro later said publicly that his government would aid those efforts.

Heightened insecurity in Latin America and the Caribbean and beyond, as well as a lack of regular migration opportunities, have pushed increasing numbers of migrants through the 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 The Darién’s criminal groups, through their involvement in migrant smuggling and environmental crimes, present a formidable obstacle to Panama’s new conservation measures.

The measure to create managed migration routes to limit environmental damage could put migrants in further danger. Panamanian gangs that target migrant groups for extortion, robbery, and kidnapping may be better able to hone in on their targets if migrants are funneled through planned paths.

SEE ALSO: Gangs, Corruption to Test Panama’s New President

Moreover, 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 pathways and punished those who try to cross outside of those routes. This has made migration more profitable for the group, as they are able to charge higher prices and ensure that all service providers pay.

In order to avoid a similar phenomenon on the Panama side, authorities will have to increase security for migrants alongside the new conservation measures, but details about security measures remain unclear.

Further challenging authorities’ conservation goals are other environmental crimes in the Panamanian Darién, especially illegal mining. Authorities have uncovered a number of illegal mining sites that pollute the surrounding ecosystem, some of which were controlled by the AGC.

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

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