Panama to Intensify Migrant Deportations
The small Central American country has decided to strengthen deportations of migrants who enter the country through the Colombian border and want to go to the United States.
More than 348,000 migrants, mainly Venezuelans, have crossed the inhospitable Darien rainforest since the start of the year, surpassing the record set for 248,000 migrants throughout 2022.
AFP
Panama will step up deportations of migrants entering the country through the Darien forest on the border with Colombia, the government announced Friday, in an effort to stem record waves of migrants en route to the United States.
“We are going to intensify measures aimed at phasing out deportations and expulsions” of migrants, Samira Gossin, the national director of migration, announced during a press conference. The government also plans to strengthen security measures in border towns.
More than 348,000 immigrants since January
More than 348,000 migrants, mainly Venezuelans, have crossed the inhospitable Darien rainforest since the start of the year, surpassing the record set for 248,000 migrants throughout 2022. Since April, Panamanian authorities have evacuated nearly 500 people, Samira Gozain underlined, though she promised the government would use chartered planes to intensify the evacuations.
“If 3,000 people enter (in the country illegally), we want to evict 3,000 people, but that’s impossible,” Samira Khosain, however, ruled out mass deportations. In August, an average of 2,500 to 3,000 migrants entered Panama each day from Colombia. This situation forced the government to set up several reception centers across the country with the support of international organizations. The wave of migration continues despite the United States warning months ago that it would not allow anyone entering Panama illegally to enter its territory.
Migrants from South America, trying to reach the United States through Central America, cross the natural border of the Darien, which is 266 km long and covers an area of 575,000 hectares. They make this journey despite dangerous wild animals, raging rivers and criminal organizations that rob them or demand money to guide them. In 2022, at least 52 people died in Darien’s hospitable forest, according to officials, who believe the deaths could be higher.
AFP
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