Panama deported another 30 Colombian migrants this Saturday who had entered the country through the Darién jungle border, as part of the implementation of a recent agreement with the United States, the government reported.
A “deportation flight of migrants who entered irregularly through the Darién jungle” was carried out, stated the Ministry of Security on its X (formerly Twitter) account. Deputy Minister Luis Felipe Icaza specified that “30 Colombians, including 6 high-profile individuals,” were deported.
Last Tuesday, the Panamanian government applied the agreement with Washington for the first time, deporting 29 Colombians with criminal records on a charter flight. These individuals also entered the country through the Darién, the inhospitable jungle on the Colombian-Panamanian border, which has become a migration corridor for those heading to the United States.
Upon taking office on July 1, President José Raúl Mulino signed a migration agreement with the United States, through which Washington committed to funding the deportation of migrants from Panama who cross the Darién, with a contribution of six million dollars.
“Gradually, we will do what is necessary [to contain the flow of migrants through that jungle], but I am encouraged to see that we have started the agreement with the United States,” Mulino stated.
More than 520,000 people crossed that jungle in 2023, according to official Panamanian figures. This year, over 231,000 people have already made the dangerous journey, including 153,577 Venezuelans, 14,598 Ecuadorians, 14,674 Colombians, and 12,065 Chinese.
During the electoral campaign, Mulino had promised to “close” the Darién to migration, but once in power, he softened those statements by saying that he did not plan to carry out “forced” repatriations but rather voluntary ones, and deportations only of individuals with criminal records.
In this jungle, which covers 575,000 hectares, migrants face numerous natural dangers and also the risk of being assaulted, raped, or killed by criminal gangs.
