Bodies of migrants trying to reach the United States are recovered

• They reveal their terrible end.
• They were looking for ‘the American dream’.
• Tragedy in the Panamanian Caribbean.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office of Panama (MP) reported that its personnel completed the process of removing and recovering 10 bodies of alleged migrants.

These migrants drowned due to a rising river in the Caribbean region of Panama, near the border with Colombia.

In a statement published in X, the Prosecutor’s Office stated that «the Ombudsman of the Guna Yala Region concluded the proceedings to remove 10 presumed migrants who died by drowning in Carreto.»

The recovery of the bodies took three days and included the participation of the Servicio Nacional de Fronteras (Senafront) and the Servicio Nacional Aeronaval (SENAN).

Panama recovers bodies

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino had initially reported that the number of migrants who had died was 16, according to Efe.

However, sources from the Presidency clarified that the official figure remains at 10.

Panamanian security forces confirmed that the migrants drowned in a Caribbean area of ​​Panama after arriving from Colombia.

The above, using a shorter route through the Darien jungle on their way to North America.

Testimonies from residents of the Carreto community indicated that the migrants had been buried near the town.

According to local press reports, the incident occurred on Monday, July 15.

Senafront suggested the bodies may have been buried to cover up criminal links to migrant trafficking.

President Mulino announced that the Attorney General’s Office is conducting the relevant investigations, since burying the bodies without informing the authorities is a crime.

Mulino also warned about the risks of deviating from the controlled route established by Panama to channel the migratory flow.

The incident occurred on the «Carreto route,» an expensive route in the Panamanian Caribbean, where migrants pay up to $550 to take a boat from Capurganá, Colombia, to that community.

From there, they walk for two to four days through the jungle until they reach the indigenous community of Canaán Membrillo, according to Efe.

Since July 1, the new administration of President Mulino has implemented several measures to reduce the flow of migrants through the dangerous Darien jungle.

So far this year, more than 216,000 migrants have crossed this jungle, most of them Venezuelans, while in all of 2023 there were more than 520,000.

Among the new measures, since July 3, Panama has installed barbed wire fences in Darien to channel the migratory flow through a «humanitarian corridor.»

The Darien is a jungle known for its dangers, including sudden river flooding, attacks by wild animals and armed groups.

Migrants also face sexual abuse on their journey to North America.

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