The International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced this Tuesday that Cuba was one of the countries with the highest number of deaths traveling through the Caribbean in 2022, alongside Haiti and the Dominican Republic, but did not specify the number of the country. The report written by the organization described the situation as “very worrying,” causing 350 deaths – 104 attempting to travel between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico – far more than the 245 recorded in 2021.
“These alarming figures remind us that states must act,” said Michele Klein Solomon, IOM regional director for Central, North America and the Caribbean, in a statement, deeming it crucial to “ensure” data collection “. that the routes are safe and accessible.” In the years before 2021, the number of deaths and missing persons in the Caribbean did not exceed 170 people.
The organization also recorded record numbers of migrant deaths and disappearances across the Americas.
In 2022, the organization also recorded a record number of migrant deaths and disappearances across the Americas, with at least 1,457, almost half of them (686) at the United States-Mexico border.
The number of victims on the continent is 10% higher than in 2021 (1,316), and before this year there were never more than 900 confirmed deaths and missing people, the IOM said, based on data from its Missing Migrants Project Since 2014, there has been continuous observation of victims on migration routes around the planet.
In addition to the 686 dead or missing on the northern Mexican border, another 141 were recorded last year in Panama’s Darién Gap, which connects South America with Central America.
Since IOM began this monitoring project 10 years ago, at least 4,664 deaths and disappearances have been recorded at the United States-Mexico border, 499 on the sea route to the United States, 328 between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, and 320 in Darien- Plug.
However, Marcelo Pisani, IOM regional director for South America, added that data on migrant casualties on the continent is very incomplete, so the actual numbers could be much higher.
For example, in the case of deaths and disappearances in Mexico and the United States, the IOM regrets that it lacks complete data from immigration authorities in the border state of Texas or from the Mexican Search and Rescue Agency.
Despite the lack of complete data, this border route between Mexico and the United States is consolidated as the deadliest land route.
Despite the lack of complete data, this border route between Mexico and the United States is consolidated as the deadliest overland route for migrants in the world.
The 686 casualties on this route last year represent the second worst toll in the area since the IOM began collecting these statistics ten years ago (there were 729 dead or missing in 2021).
Almost half of the deaths at the northern Mexican border last year (307) occurred during the journey through the dangerous deserts of Sonora and Chihuahua, the IOM stressed, pointing out that this number is even higher than that of migrants arriving at died crossing the Sahara. in Africa (at least 212 last year).
As for the situation in the dangerous Darién Gorge, the IOM believes that the real number of victims could be significantly higher than the official figures offer, taking into account that in 2022 about 250,000 people will enter Panama via this jungle route came, while so far in 2023 there are already more than 300,000.
Although the deadliest land route for migrants on the planet is that between the United States and Mexico, the route with the most deaths and missing people is the sea route: the central Mediterranean, where at least 1,417 people lost their lives in 2022. In the western part of this sea there were there were 611 victims.
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