No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeTopicsLatin AmericaPanama Urges Trump to Continue US Aid for Migrant Deportations

Panama Urges Trump to Continue US Aid for Migrant Deportations

Panama’s president appealed to US President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday to maintain the aid Washington gives his central American country for deporting US-bound migrants. The United States has contributed $1 million towards the cost of deporting over 1,000 migrants who tried to cross the Darien jungle from Colombia into Panama since July.

“I believe it must be maintained under the Trump administration,” said the right-wing Jose Raul Mulino, who was elected in May on a promise to end the migrant transit through Panama. His government has organized some 30 deportation flights to Colombia, Ecuador and India.

Mulino has not however deported Venezuelans — who account for the bulk of the migrants crossing the jungle — because Panamanian planes have been barred from landing in Venezuela. Caracas instituted the ban on Panama and several other Latin American countries after they criticized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s claim to have won re-election.

The Darien jungle is a key route for the smuggling of South American migrants trying to reach the United States through Central America.  In 2023, more than half a million migrants braved fast-flowing rivers, wild animals and criminal gangs as they crossed the jungle.

So far this year, nearly 300,000 people have crossed the Darien, 41 percent less than in the same period of 2023, a decrease which Mulino attributed partly to the deportation flights. Trump has threatened to carry out the largest deportation of migrants in US history when he becomes president on January 20.

His transition team has reportedly drawn up a list of countries, including Panama, to which it wants to deport undocumented migrants when their home countries refuse to take them back. But Panama has stressed it will only take back its own citizens.

Trending Now

President Chaves Downplays Costa Rica’s Security Crisis Amid Record Homicides

President Rodrigo Chaves brushed off concerns about Costa Rica's surging violence during his Wednesday press conference, insisting the security situation "is not as serious"...

End of Air Canada Strike Brings Relief for Costa Rica-Bound Passengers

Air Canada flight attendants ended their strike Tuesday after reaching a tentative agreement with the airline, paving the way for flights to resume gradually....

The Most Clueless Gringo in Costa Rica: A Satirical Take on Expat Life

If part of your online day includes mindless scrolling through reels, you’ve probably seen the Dos Equis beer parody commercials. The original ads featured the...

Major Cocaine Seizure in Costa Rica’s South Highlights Ongoing Cartel Fight

Costa Rican police pulled off a big win against drug traffickers this Sunday, seizing over a ton of cocaine hidden in a tourism minibus...

Mexico Battles Wildfire Damage with Drone-Based Reforestation

Authorities in the state of Michoacán, in western Mexico, are using drones to scatter seeds from the air in an effort to reforest hundreds...

Costa Rica’s Sibö Chocolate Wins Bronze at Int’l Awards

Chocolate Sibö once again stood out at the International Chocolate Awards, the largest fine chocolate competition based in New York. The Costa Rican brand...
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica