US deports illegal migrants from Asia to Panama

On Thursday, the president of Panama, Jose Raul Mulino, announced the arrival of the first flight of Asian deportees from the United States, within the framework of an agreement that turns his country into a stopover point for undocumented immigrants expelled from U.S. territory.

The flight, which took off from California on Wednesday night, landed in Panama with more than a hundred migrants from various countries, including China, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan. All were detained after illegally entering U.S. territory.

"Yesterday a flight from the United States Air Force arrived with 119 people from diverse nationalities of the world," Mulino said.

This operation comes shortly after the visit of Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Panama and corresponds to the first of three scheduled flights, which in total will transfer some 360 people.

Panama's role in the repatriation

In a press conference, Mulino informed that the migrants were initially housed in a hotel near Panama City before being transferred to a shelter in the province of Darien, in the east of the country. According to the president, these migrants will be repatriated to their countries of origin via flights financed by the United States, and Panama has reaffirmed its commitment to support this process.

Mulino also highlighted the collaboration of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to ensure that the migrants receive the necessary assistance during their stay and subsequent repatriation. "We hope to get them out of there as soon as possible," he stated.

Challenges and international cooperation

The sending of deportees to Panama marks a new phase in Trump's efforts to accelerate the expulsion of illegal immigrants, especially those from countries with which Washington faces difficulties in finalizing repatriation agreements. In this context, other nations in the region, such as El Salvador and Guatemala, have also agreed to receive migrants of other nationalities under agreements with the United States.