Darien Gap migration crisis expected to worsen in coming years.

The number of migrants crossing the dangerous Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama could reach 400,000 this year, according to two U.N. agencies. The United States has pledged to assist Colombia and Panama with intelligence gathering to dismantle smuggling rings operating in the area. The Darien Gap is a key route for migrants heading to the U.S. from South America, but it is also among the most dangerous portions of the long route to the U.S. borders, with reports of sexual assaults, robberies, and killings in the remote jungle.