Big spike in migrant numbers crossing Darien Gap from 2021 figures -UNHCR

FILE PHOTO: Cuban migrants eat next to a campfire in Puerto Obaldia town in Panama's Guana Yala Region September 16, 2015. Picture taken on September 16, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/File Photo

(Reuters) - The number of people crossing the Darien Gap, one of the most dangerous and impassable regions of Latin America, has almost tripled compared to the same period last year, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday.

The Darien Gap, a lawless stretch of mountainous jungle 160 km (100 miles) long and 50 km (30 miles) wide between Colombia and Panama, is one of the main routes taken by migrants and refugees trying to head north to the United States.