US and Panama agree to curb illegal immigration crossing through the Darién jungle

U.S. authorities led by Laura Richardson, head of the U.S. Southern Command, and the president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, held a meeting to analyze the situation in Venezuela and apply formulas that stop the passage of illegal immigration through the Darién jungle.

Both countries signed a Cooperative Situational Information Integration (CSII) agreement, which "allows nations to securely share air, maritime, & land tracks in near real-time, strengthening collaborative efforts countering illicit trafficking, disaster response, search & rescue, and monitoring of territorial fishing waters."

This bilateral pact will help stop the transit of illegal immigrants through the Darién jungle, mostly from Venezuela, who are forced to flee their country due to the situation caused by the management of dictator Nicolás Maduro.

According to a report by Infobae, since 2024 began, more than 212,000 people have had to cross the dangerous Darién jungle in order to enter U.S. territory.

Election in Venezuela

Another of the topics discussed at the meeting was the election in Venezuela and the fraud committed by Nicolás Maduro. Panama is one of the countries with which the dictator has decided to break diplomatic relations, after Mulino's government recognized opposition candidate Edmundo González as the winner of the elections and president-elect of Venezuela.

Initially, the White House position was similar to that of Panama. However, the Biden-Harris administration recalled back a few days later and said the complete opposite: it stopped recognizing González as president-elect and merely called for transparency in the vote count and, in the event the opposition won, for a peaceful transition of power to be executed.