Panama and Costa Rica signed a protocol for the action of the Binational Police Cooperation Center in the border sector of Paso Canoas, a government statement said today.
According to the report, the signing of this document by the Ministers of Security, Juan Manuel Pino; and his Costa Rican couple, Mario Zamora, was a commitment made on September 1, 2023 in David (Criqui).
At the recent meeting, the parties agreed on the need to generate through cooperation mechanisms and bilateral meetings, as well as to ensure support, regarding the validity, collaboration and compliance of the agreements already established for the proper functioning of the border areas.
They also advocated the implementation of new technological tools that lead to the planning of operational actions, such as joint patrolling to facilitate the detection of criminal organizations in the region.
According to Pino, the new space for dialogue and collaboration reflects the commitment to strengthen security and bilateral relations, extended to the control of growing migratory flows.
For his part, Zamora said that this meeting made visible the main factors and threats that are affecting and the determination of a road map that allows to propose alternatives to solve the current situation in its areas of responsibility, police and immigration jurisdiction.
In 2018, the Binational Police Cooperation Centre was established with the aim of strengthening the exchange of information in real time and coordinating operations in an efficient way against organized crime and common border crime.
Last February, the presidents of Panama, Laurentino, Cortizo; and Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves, inaugurated in Paso Canoas, in the vicinity of the common border, an Integrated Migrant Control Center.
Authorities in Panama indicate that in 2023 more than 520 thousand people passed through the dangerous jungle of Darién to the United States, a figure that exceeds those of 2021 and 2022.
This article has been translated from the original which first appeared in El Pais