The deportations, according to President Jose Mulino, are the result of a partnership with the US aimed at stopping irregular migration to the north – a phenomenon that has increased in recent years. Reports from CNN shows that Panama plans to send 70 people to India on September 3, while the number of Chinese migrants to be deported is not specified.
The perilous journey through the Darién Gap
Migration across the Darién Gap, a dangerous stretch of rainforest that connects South and Central America, has surged in recent years. The Biden administration has sought to keep migrants away from the U.S. southern border by setting up detention centers in Latin America and pushing neighboring countries to increase border controls.
“More than 230,000 people have entered Panama through the Darién Gap this year,” Panamanian Migration Agency chief Roger Mojica told CNN, a 30 percent increase over the same period last year.
Flights to South America are also planned
In the coming days, according to “ReutersFlights carrying dozens of Ecuadorians and Colombians are also set to take off, and Ecuadorians are the second-largest migrant group in the region after Venezuelans. Twenty-nine Colombians have already been repatriated through the same program.
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