Panama dismantles ‘VIP’ Chinese migrant route in Darien jungle

A Panamanian border police officer takes a man into custody during an operation against migrant smuggling near Santa Fe, Darien province, Panama, on August 7, 2024. Panama’s border police on Wednesday dismantled an alleged criminal organization that smuggled Chinese migrants, providing them with a less difficult route through the inhospitable Darien jungle on their way to the United States. Agence France-Presse

METETI, Panama — Panamanian border police arrested 15 people Wednesday connected to a criminal organization that helped smuggle Chinese migrants across the Darien jungle via a “VIP route” with fewer challenges to traverse.

The arrests were made in the town of Santa Fe, near the city of Meteti in Darien Province, Panama’s border region with Colombia covered in dense jungle and through which hundreds of thousands of migrants cross on their way to the United States.

More than half a million people traversed the so-called Darien Gap in 2023, where migrants face dangers such as rapid river waters, wild animals and criminal gangs that rob, rape and kill those passing through the lawless forest.

READ: For migrants, the Darien Gap is hell; for adventure tourists, it’s a magnet

But the “VIP route” — which used all-terrain vehicles and even horses — sped up the sometimes weeklong journey, at least for those who could afford it.

This year, more than 220,000 people have crossed the jungle, primarily Venezuelan migrants, but also people from Ecuador, Colombia, Haiti and China.

The latter group were the primary migrants to pay to use the “VIP route” facilitated by the crime ring, according to local prosecutor Emeldo Marquez.

READ: 120,000 minors crossed Darien Gap last year in bid to reach US risking all in jungle

He attributed this to their generally higher purchasing power compared to other migrant groups.

“It’s a route that has been called ‘VIP’ because it provides them with the ability to move faster than the route the rest of the migrants are using,” Marquez told AFP.

The number of Chinese migrants crossing the Darien Gap has surged in recent years, from 296 recorded from 2010 to 2019 up to 12,000 so far in 2024, according to Panamanian government data.

The “VIP route” cost between $2,600 to $8,000 US dollars per person and was used to help more than 700 migrants through Panama, according to Marquez.

The route followed a different trajectory than the typical paths through the Darien Gap, which can take five to eight days to complete.

Instead, migrants left the towns of Capurgana or Necocli on the Colombian coast and traveled by sea to the villages of Carreto or Caledonia in Panama.

From there, they crossed the jungle in an average of two days using various modes of transportation, including canoe, horseback or even all-terrain vehicles.

The regular route costs about $500 US dollars per person.

All 15 suspects arrested were Panamanian, though Marquez alleged they worked for Colombian gangs.

If convicted, each person faces 15 to 20 years in prison.