Panama’s next president says he’ll try to shut down one of the world’s busiest migration routes

By ALMA SOLÍS
Associated Press

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Panama is on the verge of a dramatic change to its immigration policy that could reverberate from the dense Darien jungle to the U.S. border. President-elect José Raúl Mulino says he will shut down a migration route used by more than 500,000 people last year. Until now, Panama has helped speedily bus the migrants across its territory so they can continue their journey north. Whether Panama’s next president is able to reduce migration through a sparsely populated region with little government presence remains to be seen.