US to expand fight against human trafficking in Darien Gap

US to expand fight against human trafficking in Darien Gap

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2024 (BSS/AFP) – The United States said on Tuesday that it
would expand an interagency effort to combat human trafficking in
dangerous Darien Gap, the dense jungle on the Colombia-Panama border
crossed by many migrants bound for the United States.

The US Departments of Justice and Homeland Security announced that the two countries
would be added to their Joint Task Force Alpha, a specialized unit created in
June 2021 to investigate and prosecute people smugglers.

Previously, the task force worked in Mexico and three Central American countries.
countries: El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

“We are expanding our enforcement efforts in Darien — among the most
dangerous passages for migrants on Earth – and deploy rewards programs like
those who brought down the drug lords to pursue the people smugglers”,
» said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco in a statement.

“To those who traffic human beings across Darien, know this:
The force of the American government is coming towards you. »

At the same time, the State Department announced it was offering $8 million
as rewards for information leading to the capture or disruption of humans
trafficking networks operated by the Gulf Clan.

Migrants crossing Darien Gap face dangerous terrain, wild animals and
violent criminal gangs who extort, kidnap and abuse them.

In recent years, many of them have come from South America to try to cross
Central America to Mexico, with the United States as the finale
destination.

Last month, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said that more than 30,000
of migrant children had crossed the border in the first four months of
2024 – an increase of 40 percent compared to the same period last year.

Some 2.8 million undocumented migrants enter the United States each year.

As the US election campaign gathers pace, immigration emerges as a key element
stake in the race between Democratic President Joe Biden and the presumed
Republican challenger Donald Trump.

Former President Accuses Biden of Allowing 'Invasion' in US, Mexico
border and vowed to lead a mass expulsion effort if returned to white territory.
Home.

Biden, seeking to neutralize Republican attacks, recently issued an executive order
an order that would prohibit migrants entering the United States illegally from seeking asylum
when the numbers exceed 2,500 in a day.