UN General Assembly
2024

This is not just about Darién or, for another example, the Mediterranean. It is a vast system of organised crime profiting from human suffering. In 2023 alone, more than half a million illegal migrants crossed our border at Darién. That represents 12% of Panama’s total population. If the same occurred in the United States, it would mean 40 million illegal entries in a single year—twenty times what the U.S. currently receives. For further perspective: Italy, which faces a severe migration crisis, saw around 150,000 illegal entries last year. If it were proportional to Panama’s experience, Italy would have received 7 million. Ladies and Gentlemen, I ask you to consider the magnitude of what is happening. We feel we are not receiving the international support we deserve to confront a situation that is deeply distressing from a humanitarian perspective, hugely costly financially, dangerous for our security, and devastating to our environment.