In an effort to combat human smuggling in the Darién region between Colombia and Panama, the State Department has recently declared a reward of up to $8 million. This largely ungoverned area is notorious for the treacherous Darién Gap jungle, which hundreds of thousands of migrants cross on foot every month, en route to the U.S. southern border.
Officials revealed that the announcement was made on the third anniversary of Joint Task Force Alpha, a federal initiative that focuses on investigating and prosecuting human smuggling activities at the southern border. During the meeting, senior leaders from the departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and State gathered to discuss the progress that has been made over the past three years.
According to a senior official from the Justice Department, the main objective of the JTFA is to hinder and dismantle criminal smuggling groups operating in Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. The task force has achieved over 300 arrests in the country and more than 240 convictions in the US, as per the official’s account.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has approved three new rewards as part of the Anti-Smuggling Rewards Initiative. The aim is to target significant leaders involved in human smuggling operations. The rewards include up to $2 million for providing information that leads to the arrest or conviction of any key leader, up to $1 million for information that leads to the disruption of the smuggling operations’ finances, and up to $5 million for information that leads to the arrest or conviction of any key regional leader who encourages and induces aliens to enter the United States resulting in death in the Darién. The State Department provided these details.
During Tuesday’s meeting, the Department of Justice revealed several initiatives for the Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA) to tackle smuggling in Colombia and Panama. Additionally, the department proposed a new legislation to impose stricter penalties for the “most dangerous and prolific” human smugglers, as per a news release.
In a recent news release, Attorney General Merrick Garland emphasized the need to intensify efforts in dismantling human smuggling networks. He highlighted that these criminal organizations who control the region’s route are known for targeting vulnerable migrants, including men, women, and children, and subjecting them to brutal crimes such as murder, rape, robbery, and extortion. It is crucial to take bold action against these organized criminals to ensure the safety and security of all individuals seeking a better life.
Last year, a record-breaking number of migrants, including women and children, traversed the previously impenetrable Darién Jungle on foot, as per the data provided by the Panamanian government. The numbers were staggering, with hundreds of thousands of individuals making the journey. Most of these migrants were from Venezuela, a nation that has witnessed millions of its citizens fleeing in recent times due to a combination of economic woes and authoritarian governance.