A bold plan to close the deadly Darién Gap unravels

The border agent’s response typifies the mess at the Darién Gap, a treacherous stretch of jungle between Colombia and Panama. In recent years the number of migrants crossing it en route to the United States has rocketed (see chart). President Joe Biden’s administration is desperate to stanch the flow. It thought it had found a kindred spirit in Panama’s new president, José Raúl Mulino, who campaigned for office pledging to “close” the border. On July 1st Mr Mulino’s government signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States which laid out the countries’ intention to send illegal migrants home. But just weeks later Mr Mulino appears to be backtracking. This has blindsided the United States and is worsening the chaos in the jungle.