SEATTLE - For years, the Darien Gap, a 60-mile treacherous jungle path that connects Panama and Colombia, has been known as ...

“It needs to happen,” incoming border czar Tom Homan told NBC News. “Shutting down the Darien Gap is going to protect our national security. It’s going to save thousands of lives.

Panama's President José Raúl Mulino is trying to stem the flow of migrants crossing the treacherous Darien Gap, a 70-mile stretch of undeveloped jungle near the Panama-Colombia border.

The Darién Gap is a treacherous, lawless human trail linking South America to the United States. The fittest take days to cross the dense jungle, others weeks - and some do not make it.