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Why Is The Darien Gap So Dangerous?

Much of the discussion over illegal immigration into the United States in recent weeks has focused on the Darien Gap in the South. Some ideologies from Central and South America predict an increase in the number of people seeking asylum in the United States via this dangerous route. To find out the reasons for this, The Conversation spoke to Sarah MacKinnon, an immigration scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who knows the area well and has interviewed people crossing the jungle.

Connecting South and Central America, the Darien Gap is a dangerous passage filled with natural hazards including insects, snakes, and unpredictable terrain. Its landscape ranges from high mountains to dense forests and swift rivers.

Where is the Darien Gap?

The Darien Gap is an expanse of dense forest in northern Colombia and southern Panama. The area, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) wide, is muddy, wet, and unstable.

There is no paved road across the Darien Gap. Yet, despite this, it has become a major route of global human migration. Depending on how much they could pay, people would spend four to 10 days climbing and descending mountains, crossing fast-flowing rivers and wading through mud, carrying everything they had with them. Have to carry—and often carry—children who are too small to walk.

How have the authorities responded?

Travel visa restrictions by many governments are causing more people to attempt this dangerous route. Governments have also been indifferent to the presence of humanitarian groups assisting migrants in transit. On March 7, 2024, Doctors Without Borders reported that the Government of Panama would no longer allow the organization to provide medical assistance to people in transit through the Darien Gap. Less access to healthcare will certainly mean a more dangerous path.