UN: Increase in Child Migrants Through Dangerous Darien Gap

PANAMA CITY - The number of child migrants passing through the perilous Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama has risen dramatically, the U.N. child welfare agency said Monday.  

Underage migrants made up only about 2% of those using the jungle corridor in 2017. In 2020, children made up 25% of the migrants making the hard trek on foot, UNICEF's report said.   The Darien Gap is a 60-mile (97-kilometer) stretch of roadless jungle that provides the only land route north out of South America. There is little food or shelter on the weeklong trek and bandits and wild animals prey on migrants.  Most migrants making the hike are from Haiti or Cuba, with smaller numbers from African nations, such as Cameroon and Congo, and South Asian countries, such as India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.