Panama Halts Doctors Without Borders in Darien Gap

Doctors Without Borders said the Panamanian government has halted its humanitarian activities in the notorious Darien Gap after it criticized a sharp rise in sexual violence against migrants who pass through there.

Last week, the NGO that goes by its French initials MSF, reported an "extreme" level of brutality against migrants who undertake the dangerous trek through the jungle between Colombia and Panama on their way to the United States.

And it urged the Panamanian authorities to redouble efforts to protect the most vulnerable people "on their territory."

MSF said it was "forced to suspend all medical activity for the migrant population in Darien by order of the Panamanian authorities."

It said the government cited the lack of a valid "collaboration agreement" with the health ministry to operate in Panama.

The NGO said it had been trying in vain to renew the agreement since October 2023.

In just one week in February, the NGO said last week, it had treated 113 people, including nine children, who had been sexually assaulted by criminal groups operating in the lawless Darien Gap.

For the whole of January, the number was 120.

MSF has volunteers stationed to help migrants as they emerge from the jungle.

It says it provides medical and psychological care to about 5,000 people a month, with a focus on survivors of sexual violence.

Despite its dangers, the 265-kilometer Darien Gap has become a key corridor for migrants heading from South America through Central America and Mexico in hopes of reaching the United States and a chance at a better life there.

They face treacherous terrain, wild animals and violent criminal gangs that extort, kidnap and abuse them.

In 2023, a record 520,000 people crossed through Darien, 120,000 of them children.