Panama warns of fines of $5,000 for migrants crossing the Darien Gap

Migrants entering Panama from Colombia through the Darien jungle on their way to the United States will be fined up to $5,000 dollars, warned Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino. The fines are contemplated in Executive Decree 194, approved and published on Friday, October 25, 2024, in the State Gazette, due to the “alarming” way in which the entry of foreign citizens into the country has increased through the irregular migratory flow that crosses “through informal steps” the Darien jungle, the natural border with Colombia.

This situation, the norm indicates, constitutes a “clear violation of the officially authorized immigration control posts and, consequently, the configuration of an administrative immigration infraction.”