A report from the Panamanian government’s national border service, Senafront, indicates migrants are now employing the same boat smugglers who once ferried them from Colombia to Panama to return them home. The Panamanian agency refers to the process as “inverse” migration.
The developing trend appears to be a response to President Trump’s strict immigration enforcement strategies.
Senafront reported the trend after an 8-year-old child perished in a boating accident carrying mostly Venezuelan migrants south from Panama to Colombia. The vessel carrying the child and other family members was one of three ferrying discouraged migrants back to Colombia late Friday evening. Panamanian authorities rescued a total of 20 migrants after the boat capsized in rough waters, according to the Senafront report.
The report indicates foul weather may have contributed to the “inverse” migration accident. According to Senafront, two boats ferrying the migrants near Manuscum, in Guna Yala, heeded a weather advisory and returned to dry land. One boat smuggler failed to heed the warning and capsized on the voyage to La Miel, Panama, a small city near the Colombian border.
The migrants, many who have waited months in southern Mexico for immigration permits needed to reach the United States, are further discouraged by the firm immigration policies put into place under the new Trump administration.
For some, the new immigration enforcement posture, which includes ICE raids in major cities, the cancellation of the CBP-One smartphone application, and other migrant parole programs, is the impetus to risk peril traveling through deadly regions to reach home.
Senafront reported record levels of migration involving nationals from across the globe. In 2023, more than 500,000 migrants traveled through the region, which includes the infamous Darien Gap jungle that has claimed the lives of countless migrants. As reported by Breitbart Texas, the Darien Gap is one of the most formidable obstacles in the region migrants will face on their trek to the United States.
The UN International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Missing Migrants Project estimates more than 250 migrants died crossing the Darién Gap between January 2018 and June 2023 — more than 40 were children. Panamanian authorities say more than 50 died in 2024, and many more may have perished and could not be located or recovered from the harsh terrain.
According to the Border Patrol, the inverse migration trend has also appeared in Honduras. As reported by Breitbart Texas, Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol Michael W. Banks says the agency has received verified reports confirming several groups of migrants have been encountered by foreign law enforcement agencies headed south rather than north toward the United States.
According to Banks, nearly 50 migrants headed to the U.S. were encountered headed south, away from the U.S./Mexico border by Honduran authorities in early February.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.