Panama started on Tuesday its first deportation flight of irregular migrants who entered the country through the Darin jungle, local media reported. This constitutes the first of a series of flights financed by the US Department of State to return irregular migrants to their home countries.
According to local media, the first flight repatriated 29 individuals to Columbia. For migrants from other countries, Panamanian authorities are coordinating with the authorities of those countries to organize deportation flights. However, no repatriation flights to Venezuela will be conducted because of the diplomatic situation between the two countries.
All the deported people had illegally entered Panama through the Darien jungle, or the Darien Gap, which is a border jungle separating Panama and Columbia. It consists of more than 60 miles of dense rainforest, steep mountains, and vast swamps and is considered one of the most dangerous migration routes. As it is the only overland path connecting Central and South America, and due to the crackdown on alternative routes by sea and air, migrants and asylum seekers have been increasingly crossing this region in order to get to the US. In addition to the harsh natural conditions, migrants crossing this jungle also endure violence and abuse from gangs operating in the area. Most of the migrants originated from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Haiti.
Tuesday’s deportation flights are part of an arrangement signed in July between Panama and the US that addresses the migration crisis. This arrangement promotes the collaboration between the two countries in managing illegal migration through the Darien Gap. It includes the funding of repatriation flights from Panama by the US Department of State to remove foreign nationals who don’t have a legal basis to stay in the Central American country. The US Department of State specified that this assistance aims to ” reduce the unprecedented irregular migration through the Darien region, through which over 520,000 migrants transited in 2023.”
Furthermore, a large proportion of these migrants were children without families who experienced unbearable living conditions such as hunger, dehydration and diseases, which led to several deaths. According to a UNICEF report, over 30,000 children crossed the perilous Darien Gap in the first four months of this year, and an estimated 160,000 more are predicted to cross the area.
The implementation of this agreement comes one month after the election of José Raúl Mulino as president of Panama. During his presidential campaign, President Mulino promised to close the southern border of the country and highlighted that tackling illegal migration through the Darien jungle would be at the top of his government priorities. He also pointed out in a speech that his government will initiate a repatriation process “with international assistance” for illegal migrants entering Panama.
In addition to Tuesday’s flight, two other repatriation flights will be conducted soon. The first flight is scheduled between Friday and Saturday this week.
