Panama. Panamanian authorities deported around thirty Ecuadorian migrants on a flight financed by the United States, as part of an agreement between the two countries to discourage the irregular crossing of thousands of people who each year cross the dangerous Darien jungle in their attempt to reach the north.
The flight comes a week after Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino announced that his government will repatriate migrants from China, Ecuador and India.
The agreement with Washington for air repatriations to different countries was announced by Mulino after taking office in July with the promise of taking strong measures against irregular migration entering through the Darien Gap, which separates Central America from South America. The first repatriation flight took place in mid-August.
On Thursday night, a plane with 30 migrants from Ecuador on board departed from Marcos A. Gelabert International Airport, on the outskirts of the Panamanian capital, amid a strict security operation.
Panama has become a transit route for tens of thousands of migrants, most of whom are seeking to reach the United States. Last year, a record 520,000 migrants — most of them Venezuelans — crossed the Darien River in search of better opportunities in the north.
The new Panamanian government’s measures – such as blocking some crossings with barbed wire – began to take effect, and in July alone, irregular migrant crossings through the Darien fell by 34 percent compared to the previous month.
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– 2024-09-04 22:26:26
