Panama starts returning migrants on US-funded flights
On Tuesday, Panama began repatriating undocumented migrants on flights funded by the United States, a move that comes less than two months after José Raúl Mulino assumed the presidency of Panama.
Mulino’s campaign had focused on a promise to “close” the Darién Gap, a treacherous stretch of jungle that saw more than half a million migrants cross last year on their journey northward from South America.
The Biden administration agreed to finance these flights as part of its broader strategy to discourage irregular migration.
The first group of 29 Colombians, all with criminal records, were returned on Tuesday.
An agreement, co-signed by Panama’s foreign minister and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, commits the U.S. to providing Panama with $6 million (£4.6 million) for equipment, transportation, and logistics to facilitate the removal of foreign nationals without legal residency in Panama.
With immigration being a key issue ahead of the upcoming U.S. presidential election in November, the flow of migrants to the U.S.-Mexico border is under close scrutiny. The agreement with Panama seeks to reduce the number of migrants reaching the U.S. border by intercepting them further south.
The Darién Gap, a dense jungle spanning the border between Colombia and Panama, acts as a critical chokepoint for those making the trek from South to North America.
In 2023, an estimated 520,000 people made the perilous journey on foot, many of whom had to pay gangs who prey on those embarking on the crossing.
President Mulino, who has promised to reduce the number of migrants transiting through Panama, described their situation as “sad”.
“Most of them are from Venezuela,” he explained. “They’re human beings… there are families torn apart, children of five or six years of age whose parents have died during the crossing. We don’t even know who they are or what their names are.”
The president had earlier said that the flights would in the first instance take migrants to Colombia, the country from which they entered Panama.
It is not yet clear if flights will be organized from Colombia to repatriate them to their homelands.
According to Panamanian government figures, Venezuelans form the largest share of migrants trekking through the Darién Gap, followed by Colombians, Ecuadoreans, and Haitians.
There is widespread concern in the region that the flow of those fleeing Venezuela could increase in the months to come if the political crisis triggered by the announcement of disputed election results is not solved.
Ahead of the election, polls had suggested that large numbers of Venezuelans were planning on migrating should President Nicolás Maduro win.
Tension has been high since he was declared the winner by the government-dominated National Electoral Council, with the result being rejected as fraudulent by the opposition and questioned by the US, the EU, and many Latin American countries.
Panamanian President Mulino earlier this month offered Mr. Maduro “safe passage” so that the Venezuelan leader could leave for a third country, but his offer was rejected by Mr. Maduro, who warned his Panamanian counterpart not to “mess” with Venezuela.
