Source: Manoramayearbook.in

Disclaimer: Copyright infringement not intended.

Context

The Darien Gap is a perilous migration route where Indians and others risk harsh conditions and deportation while attempting to reach the US.

About Darien Gap

• It is considered as one of the world’s most dangerous and fastest-growing border crossings.
• Discussion over illegal immigration to US has sparked the debate and brought back focus on Darien Gap.
• This route spans parts of Central and South America
• Many people are trying to pass on their way to the US to claim asylum.
• It is a geographic region in the Isthmus of Darién or Isthmus of Panama (connects the American continents within Central America)
• It is on the border between Colombia and Panama.
• It consists of a large
• Watershed
• Forest
• mountains
• The Darien Gap is home to the
• Embera-Wounaan
• Guna people
• Cueva people (following the Spanish invasion of Panama they became extinct by 1535)
• It has become a significant route for global human migration although there is no paved road in the Darien Gap
• Prior to 2021, around 10k people used to annually take this route on their way north to seek residence in the United States and Canada.
• But in 2021, a dramatic increase in human movement was observed since the Panamanian government documented 133,000 crossings in such a volatile stretch of land which made the overall situation very grave.
• In 2023, the number again dramatically rose to more than half a million people who transited through this part of the Isthmus of Panama.
• It is a stretch of mountainous jungle 160km long and 50km wide
• It is controlled by criminal groups known for acts of violence, sexual abuse, robbery.
• Crossing this stretch of land without the help of a smuggler or guide is impossible since the criminal organisations that control the territory demand payment for passage.
• The Missing Migrant Project reported 141 known deaths in the Darien Gap in 2023.
• Darien Gap is a part of the Donkey Route to the USA.

What is Donkey Route?

• The donkey route to the US involves migrants travelling through Latin American countries to reach the US border.
• The journey often starts in countries like Ecuador, Guyana, Bolivia where Indian citizens can obtain visas quickly.
• The route includes crossing the Darién Gap, a forested area between Colombia and Panama, facing risks like
• lack of clean water
• wildlife
• criminal gangs
• From Panama, migrants are often routed through Guatemala to enter Mexico
• They eventually reach the US border, facing challenges like
• jumping fences
• crossing the Rio Grande River
• The journey is expensive, ranging from Rs 15 – 70lakh
• It involves coordination with human trafficking networks

Features

• This is a hot, humid area typified by
• tropical rainforests
• mangrove swamps
• low mountain ranges
• cloud forest vegetation.
• The Pan-American Highway does not traverse Darien, which effectively blocks land transportation between Central and South America
• The Pan-American Highway is a system of roads measuring around 30,000 km in length.
• It runs entirety of North, Central and South America (north–south)
• There is a sole exception of a 106 km stretch of marshland and mountains between Panama and Colombia known as the Darién Gap.
• A pair of contiguous parks
• Darién National Park in Panama
• Los Katios National Park in Colombia -   administer a large part of the region.
• The Darien National Park and Biosphere has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981.

Key facts about Isthmus of Panama

• It is a link between Central America and South America.
• It borders

• This strategic position allows it to be a natural conduit for international maritime trade, especially through the well-known Panama Canal.

Sources:

INDIAN EXPRESS