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Just over 170,000 migrants crossed the Darien Gap that connects Panama to Colombia over the first five months of this year, Panama’s migration agency said on Thursday, suggesting 2024 could again break records.

This is 2% higher than the nearly 167,000 who made the crossing in the same period of last year, data from the National Migration Service (SNM) showed.

While numbers were up through early 2024, SNM recorded a significant decline in April and May attributed to the start of the rainy season.

Authorities said people from Venezuela represented the largest group crossing the Darien Gap.