What is the Darién Gap and Why Does Trump Want to Close It?
President-elect Donald Trump once again has the Central American country of Panamá in sight. This time, he wants to close the Darién Gap to prevent migrants from being able to make the journey from South America to the U.S. The crossing is located in a region that straddles both Panamá and Colombia, meaning that the incoming Trump administration is looking for ways to ramp up its interference in Latin America.
What is the Darién Gap?
The Darién Gap is a large piece of land in the Darién region of Panamá and the northern part of Colombia. The area is a richly diverse ecosystem. On the Colombian side, you are greeted with marshlands created by the Atrato River’s delta. Along the Pacific Coast, running from Colombia to Panamá, is the Serranía del Baudó mountain range. In Panamá, the crossing is a mountainous rainforest with deep valleys and high peaks.
Crossing the Darién Gap can be done because of water from multiple ports, but the ocean can create hazardous conditions, making the crossing unreliable. There are both scheduled boats and chartered boats.
The other option is crossing by land, but the journey is dangerous. Migrants are often forced to endure hazardous conditions when making their way to the U.S. The danger outweighs their reality at home, and coming to the U.S. is a chance to seek freedom and a better life.
Another state-sponsored option for those who can afford it is a bus that takes migrants through the Darién Gap to the Nicaraguan border. The bus takes migrants 760 miles and allows fleeing their home countries. The bus gives them a chance to relax and offers a moment of peace during the tumultuous journey north. In 2024, 300,000 migrants made their way through the Darién Gap.
The incoming Trump administration has hinted that they want to close the Darién Gap
The Darién Gap crossing is crucial to the journey to freedom. The incoming Trump administration wants to close it to prevent migrants from reaching the U.S. Panamá has faced growing calls and pressure to curb migration through the country, and with new measures, there has been a 42 percent drop in border crossings.
“It needs to happen,” incoming border czar Tom Homan told NBC News. “Shutting down the Darien Gap is going to protect our national security. It’s going to save thousands of lives.”
Although the number of crossings might have dropped, the news of President-elect Trump’s victory has increased the urgency of migrants’ getting to the U.S. border. According to AP News, migrants they spoke to were crossing the Darién Gap when they heard of Trump’s victory.
“We’re trying to arrive as soon as possible, before January, to see if we have a chance with CBP One,” Jesús Chávez, a migrant from Venezuela making the trek north, told AP News.
The scope of international meddling from the Trump administration is growing as the president-elect adopts an expansionist foreign policy. Not only does the incoming administration want to close the Darién Gap, but President-elect Trump has not ruled out using military force to take the Panama Canal and acquire the sovereign Danish territory of Greenland.
