Panama’s New President Pledges to Close the Darién Gap
The inauguration of President José Raúl Mulino. Image credit: Fotografía oficial de la Presidencia de Colombia via Wikimedia Commons.
Panama’s new President, José Raúl Mulino, was officially sworn into office last week as the Republic’s 39th President. Mulino is a well-experienced politician, previously holding several high positions in government, including overseeing key government law enforcement agencies as minister for government and justice and minister of security from 2009 to 2014. During these appointments, he cultivated a tough-on-crime image in the public’s eye. This image was utilised during his presidential campaign, where he promised to crack down on the border Panama shares with Colombia. During the election campaign, rampant illegal migration through Panama was a top issue for voters. More than half a million people travelled through the country last year, and Mulino’s stern reputation presented a clear opportunity to win popular support.
Initially, Mulino was on former President Ricardo Martinelli’s ticket as vice president. Martinelli served as President from 2009 to 2014 and was highly popular, at times enjoying an approval rating exceeding 90 percent. However, due to a scandalous corruption saga incriminating Martinelli, forcing Martinelli to remove himself from the ballot, Mulino was able to run for president. Mulino’s path to presidency was an atypical one, where he did not win his party’s primary election, meaning his candidacy was at risk of being annulled if not for the Supreme Court sanctioning his run just two days before the election. He rarely appeared for interviews and skipped all three presidential debates, purely using rallies to proliferate his simple message of economic improvement and border crackdown.
During his position as minister of government and justice, Mulino faced criticism for his handling of several protests, namely in July 2010, when workers protested a new bill that aimed to criminalise street protests and changes to labour laws that unions strongly opposed. The protest lasted for five days, during which police constantly escalated their efforts to clear the protestors to the street, culminating in two deaths and over 100 injuries, including dozens suffering damage to their eyes causing blindness in many cases. Again in 2011, Mulina faced civil rights groups calling for his resignation after five prisoners were burned to death during an intense police intervention in a prison riot.
Mulino used his inauguration speech to echo his strong rhetoric regarding the issue of migration, stating:
“I will not allow Panama to be an open path for thousands of people who enter our country illegally, supported by an international organisation related to drug traffic and human trafficking. I understand that there are deep-rooted reasons for migration, but each country has to resolve its problems”.
Panama’s southern border sits right on the Darién Gap. The Darién Gap is a remote expanse of thick rainforest, rugged mountains and extensive swampland between Panama and Colombia. The Gap has no roads and is a notoriously dangerous passage for migrants travelling from South to North America. The migration path typically begins in Necolí, Colombia, followed by a short ferry journey to the Acandi district in Colombia near the border with Panama. The journey through the Gap is ten or more days of treacherous hiking, facing not just risks of landslides, snakes and crocodiles, but also exploitation from criminal groups that plague the journey. Mulino also pledged to collaborate with the international community with assistance on how to confront the issue, which he describes as a costly humanitarian crisis. Adopting a compassionate, humanitarian position may help rehabilitate his problematic human rights record.
Map of the Darién Gap. Image credit: Milenioscuro via Wikimedia Commons.
Almost immediately after taking office, Javier Martinez-Acha, the incoming foreign minister, signed an agreement with the United States to begin measures to mitigate illegal migration. The United States Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who visited Panama to attend Mulino’s inauguration, also signed the document. Part of this new agreement includes the United States providing financial assistance to cover the cost of repatriating migrants who have illegally entered Panama. As a representative of the Biden government, Mayorkas was assumedly directed to travel to Panama to demonstrate Biden’s commitment to solve the United States southern border crisis. A resounding key issue for American voters heading into the November general elections, Biden and his cabinet are attempting to stop the migration flow in Panama. A White House National Security Council spokeswoman gave a statement describing the agreement as a plan to “jointly reduce the number of migrants being cruelly smuggled through the Darién, usually en route to the United States”. The Biden administration recognises the Darién Gap as the most dangerous part of the path leading to the United States and understands the humanitarian gain in closing the passage as well as disrupting human trafficking operations. Migrants traversing the Darién Gap have diverse backgrounds but the majority are fleeing instability and political upheaval in their home countries. In recent years, Venezuelans and Haitians have made up the largest proportion of migrants. However, recently there has been a marked increase in migration from as far away as China, Angola, and Pakistan.
An aerial view of the dense jungle near the Colombia-Panama border. Image credit: Gustavo Ross via Wikimedia Commons.
Strong backing from the United States would allow Mulina to hit the ground running and is poised to make effective progress on a key campaign promise of bolstering the southern border. Mulina’s administration could leverage this issue to pressure the Biden administration for more assistance, given the administration's need to demonstrate considerable effort in tackling the United States illegal migration crisis. Perhaps extending such leverage for the United States to help make progress with his other main electoral pledge of economic development. Mulino has a unique opportunity to make meaningful progress on key domestic issues that can impact the lives of millions of Panama citizens and potentially rehabilitate his poor human rights reputation.
Author Bio: Alister Gibson is a third-year International Relations Student at the University of Adelaide and a regular contributor at ALELD. He has a keen interest in political order, history, and philosophy and is currently studying German and Spanish.
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