PANAMA CITY — Another group of 300 migrants, including Afghans, has been deported to Panama as the United States intensifies efforts to remove those it cannot repatriate directly.
Since President Donald Trump took office, increasing numbers of migrants have also been arriving in Panama via its northern border with Costa Rica, Panamanian President Raúl Mulino said Thursday. At least 2,200 people have crossed into the country in recent weeks.
The latest group of deportees includes migrants from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. These flights are part of a U.S. strategy to circumvent diplomatic barriers that prevent direct deportations to certain countries.
Panamanian authorities said 112 of these migrants have been relocated to a remote jungle camp, where they await decisions on asylum or onward travel. President Mulino said officials are working to provide them with travel documents.
Meanwhile, in the city of Palenque, Venezuelan migrants arriving from Costa Rica have been boarding boats to Colombia, hoping to make their way home.
“We are going back to our country. It’s not an improvement, but we have to return,” said Sandra Pelaez, a Venezuelan migrant.
