'Help Us To Clean Up the Mess'

Panama's Environment Minister Juan Carlos Navarro tells Newsweek why he's urging the U.S. to tackle the ecological toll of migration on his country

- by JESUS MESA

IN THE DARIEN GAP, A ONCE-PRISTINE stretch of rainforest connecting South and Central America, the legacy of mass migration has left behind a trail of trash, sewage and suffering.

Over a million migrants took this perilous route between 2021 and 2024, most bound for the United States. Panama's Environment Minister Juan Carlos Navarro calls it one of the worst social and environmental disasters in the country's history—and blames the U.S. “The massive migration through the Panamanian Isthmus was a perfect social, human and environmental disaster,” the longtime environmental advocate and ex-Panama City mayor told Newsweek.

“It became a major criminal enterprise for drug cartels like Colombia’s Gulf Cartel and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua. Migrants were assaulted, abused and used as human bait.”

Speaking ahead of the Global Climate Week and Nature Summit in Panama City in May, Navarro called on President Donald Trump to help clean up the areas heavily damaged by mass migration during Joe Biden's presidency.

“Everyone knew [about] it, and the world looked the other way. It’s one of the greatest human tragedies of our century. Our government spent over $120 million annually, without any foreign help, to aid these victims so they could continue to the U.S.—while the previous U.S. administration stood by with their open borders policy,” Navarro said. “When the world’s greatest power promotes chaos, everything falls apart.”