Costa Rica - Panama: Flow monitoring of people in mobility situations through the Americas #6 (May 2022)

Within the framework of the COVID 19 emergency, since March 19, 2020, the Government of Costa Rica has kept its land border with Panama closed for the Binational Controlled Flow Operation, which sought an orderly and safe migration of migrants moving through the Americas.

From August 2021 to April 2022 the Government of Panama reports the entry into Panama of 107,789 migrants Haiti (53%), Cuba (10%), Brazil (7%), Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (6%), Chile (6%) among other countries in South America, Africa and Asia (12%).

In Costa Rica, during 2022, a steady increase in the number of migrants of this migration flow has been identified (as of April 2022 it has increased by 269 compared to December 2021 when the monitoring of flows in Costa Rica began). According to data from the General Directorate of Migration and Aliens (by its acronym in Spanish) during May 2021 and May 2022, 5,509 rejections were reported in Paso Canoas.

In general, the presence of increasingly numerous groups of migrants stands out (groups of up to 30 people) who approach the bus stations minutes before the trip begins, which is associated with the intermediation of third parties that buy the travel tickets, inform the migrants about the schedules and transport them from Paso Canoas to Río Claro or Ciudad Neily.