The crossing of unaccompanied minors through the Darien jungle exceeds its record in 2024
According to a UNICEF report, in the first ten months of the year at least 3,800 children have been exposed to the dangers of the jungle by crossing unaccompanied.
Migrant child in the Darien jungle
The crossing of unaccompanied minors through the Darien has reached never-before-seen levels in 2024. Specifically, around 3,800 children have traveled alone through this inhospitable jungle between January 1 and October 31, exposing themselves to traffickers or armed violence, among other dangers.
"In the first ten months of the year, 3,800 unaccompanied or separated children and adolescents have crossed the dangerous Darien jungle between Colombia and Panama, while the figure recorded for the whole of 2023 did not reach 3,300," the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement.
Among these dangers, minors are vulnerable to becoming victims of "sexual violence, abuse and exploitation, with detrimental effects on their physical and mental health and well-being," as defined by Anne-Claire Dufay, UNICEF's regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Since the beginning of 2024, at least 286,000 immigrants coming from Colombia, Ecuador or Venezuela, among other South American countries, crossed through the Darien jungle with the aim of reaching the United States, including 61,154 minors, according to data offered by the National Migration System and collected by AFP.
LATEST
