Number of children crossing Darien Gap hits record high

By ASTRID SUAREZ
Associated Press

BUCARAMANGA, Colombia (AP) — The number of minors who risked their lives to cross the inhospitable stretch of land that separates Colombia and Panama has reached a record high. UNICEF rsaid Monday that 19,000 minors crossed the Darien Gap between January and September. The figure is almost triple the total for the last five years. UNICEF says that at least one in five migrants who walked the area were children, half of those under the age of 5. UNICEF’s director for Latin America and the Caribbean says the rapid increase of migrant children should be addressed as a serious regional humanitarian crisis.