A report from Senafront, the Panama government's border agency, shows that migrants once hire the same boat smugglers who transport them from Colombia to Panama and return home. Panama's institutions call the process “reverse” transition.
The developing trend appears to be in response to President Trump's strict immigration enforcement strategy.
Senafront reported this trend after the death of an 8-year-old child in a boat accident that primarily carries migrants in Venezuela from Panama to Colombia. The ship carrying the children and other families was one of the three ferry's disappointed immigrants who returned to Colombia late Friday evening. According to Senafront, Panama authorities rescued a total of 20 migrants after the ship capsized in the rough seas. Report.
The report shows that bad weather may have contributed to the “reverse” immigration accident. According to Senafront, two boats ferrying migrants near Manuscum in Guna Yala listened to weather recommendations and returned to dry land. One smuggler failed to pay attention to the warning and capsized on a voyage to Ramiel, Panama, a small city near the Colombian border.
Immigrants are waiting months in southern Mexico for the immigrants needed to reach the United States, but are even more discouraged by the company's immigration policies under the new Trump administration.
For some, new immigration enforcement stances, including ice attacks in major cities, cancellation of CBP-one smartphone applications, and other immigration parole programs, are driving forces to risk traveling through deadly areas and reaching homes.
Senafront reported a record level of transition involving citizens from around the world. In 2023, over half a million migrants traveled the area. This includes the infamous Darien Gap Jungle, which claimed the lives of countless immigrants. As reported by Breitbart Texas, Darien Gap is one of the most frightening obstacles in the region that immigrants face on trekking to the US.
The International Organization for Immigration (IOM) Missing Immigration Project estimates that more than 250 migrants died across the Darien gap between January 2018 and June 2023. Over 40 children were children. Panama authorities say more than 50 people were killed in 2024, and more could have died, making it impossible to place or recover from harsh terrain.
The trend of reversed movement has also appeared in Honduras, according to the Border Patrol. US Border Patrol Chief Michael W. Banks said he received a confirmation report confirming that several groups of immigrants were encountered by foreign law enforcement agencies heading south rather than north towards the US, as reported by Breitbart Texas.
Nearly 50 migrants heading to the US were met southward by Honduras authorities in early February, away from the US/Mexico border, according to the bank.
Randy Clark He is a 32-year veteran of the US Border Patrol. Before retiring, he served as Chief of Law Enforcement Business and oversaw the operations of nine Border Patrol Bureaus in Del Rio, Texas. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @randyclarkbbtx.
