Panama begins returning migrants on US-funded flights

Reuters

Colombians with criminal records were the first group to be sent back

Panama began repatriating undocumented migrants on U.S.-funded flights on Tuesday.

The decision comes less than two months after José Ral Mulino was sworn in as president of Panama.

Mr. Mulino campaigned on a promise to “shut down” the Darin Gap, the dangerous stretch of jungle that more than half a million migrants crossed last year on their way north from South America.

The Biden administration said it agreed to pay for the flights as part of its efforts to discourage irregular immigration.

A group of 29 Colombians with criminal records were the first to be repatriated on Tuesday.

Under an agreement signed jointly by Panama's foreign minister and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the United States has committed to helping Panama with $6 million ($4.6 million) for equipment, transportation and logistics to “return foreign nationals who do not have a legal basis to remain in Panama.”

Immigration is a hot topic ahead of the November U.S. presidential election, and the flow of migrants arriving at the border with Mexico is being closely watched.

The deal with Panama aims to reduce the number of people crossing the U.S. border by stopping them further south.

The Darin Gap, a stretch of jungle that straddles Colombia and Panama, is a natural bottleneck for those heading from South America to North America.

In 2023, an estimated 520,000 people made the perilous journey on foot, many of them having to pay gangs who prey on those embarking on the crossing.

President Mulino, who has promised to reduce the number of migrants passing through Panama, called their situation “sad.”

“Most of them come from Venezuela,” he explained. “They are human beings… There are families torn apart, children of five or six years old whose parents died during the crossing. We don't even know who they are or what their names are.”

Getty Images

Crossing the Darin Gap on foot takes several days and involves many dangers.

The president had said earlier that the flights would initially take the migrants to Colombia, the country through which they entered Panama.

It is not yet known whether flights will be organized from Colombia to repatriate them to their countries of origin.

According to Panamanian government figures, Venezuelans make up the largest share of migrants crossing the Darin Gap, followed by Colombians, Ecuadorians and Haitians.

There is widespread fear in the region that the flow of those fleeing Venezuela will increase in the coming months if the political crisis triggered by the announcement of the disputed election results is not resolved.

Before the election, polls suggested that large numbers of Venezuelans were considering migrating if President Nicolás Maduro won.

Tensions have been running high since he was declared the winner by the government-dominated National Electoral Council, a result rejected as fraudulent by the opposition and questioned by the United States, the EU and many Latin American countries.

Panamanian President Mulino earlier this month offered Mr Maduro “safe passage” for the Venezuelan leader to travel to a third country, but his offer was rejected by Mr Maduro, who warned his Panamanian counterpart not to “go after” Venezuela.

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