Panama sees massive jump of unlawful migration in 2021

FILE PHOTO: A migrant from Haiti rests on a bench at a migrant camp, in Meteti, Darien province, Panama August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Erick Marciscano/File Photo

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - A record wave of unauthorized migrants entered Panama this year from Colombia, according to government data provided to Reuters on Thursday, as a surge of mostly Haitians entered the Central American country in route to the United States.

Through mid-December, 126,675 unlawful migrants had entered Panama after crossing the Darien Gap, a remote stretch of jungle on the border between Panama and Colombia, according to the latest security ministry data.