Panama begins US-funded deportation flights to reduce immigrant arrivals

Panama and the United States this week kicked off a plan to deport migrants who are on Panamanian soil after crossing the Darién jungle. The first flight was on Tuesday to Colombia, with 29 passengers. This Saturday, there was another one, as confirmed by President José Raúl Mulino on social media:

A flight on Saturday morning also departed for Colombia. It carried 30 passengers, according to local media outlet La Prensa. Mulino shared on Thursday that flights would soon be made to other countries, such as Ecuador, the second most common nationality to cross the Darién gap.

As part of the agreement, the United States will provide $6 million for deportation flights from Panama. Mulino publicly stated that only people with criminal records would be deported, while the rest of the immigrants would have the option of boarding the planes voluntarily.

The Darién is a dangerous jungle on the Colombian-Panamanian border that spans more than 575,000 hectares. It has become a common path for migrants trying to reach the U.S. border from different countries.

According to Panamanian authorities, 520,000 people ventured across the jungle in 2023. Two-thirds of them were Venezuelans. This year, 231,000 migrants have been registered undertaking the crossing, with 153,577 from Venezuela, 14,598 from Ecuador, 14,674 from Colombia and 12,065 from China.