Panama and the U.S. begin deporting migrants from China, India, Colombia and Ecuador

Panama will deport over 100 people from China, India, Colombia and Ecuador, in a widening crackdown on the number of migrants traveling north through Central America, President Jose Mulino announced on Thursday. The majority of the migrants arrived in Panama after crossing the Darién Gap connecting Colombia and Panama.

Families on their way to Panama, cross a river in the Darien Gap.

The deportation flights are part of Panama’s partnership with the U.S. that aims to discourage irregular migration northward – a growing phenomenon in recent years. Panama plans to send 70 people to India on September 3, and an unspecified number of Chinese migrants, Mulino said without providing details.

Flights carrying dozens of Ecuadorians and Colombians will also depart on August 29, returning 18 Ecuadorian and 30 Colombian migrants to their home countries. Twenty-nine Colombians were already sent back on an earlier flight under the same program.

A growing number of U.S.-bound migrants have been crossing into Panama from the Darién Gap, a treacherous rainforest region connecting South and Central America. The U.S. government has been trying to push migrants back from the U.S. southern border by setting up processing centers in Latin America and encouraging neighboring nations to step up border enforcement measures.

So far this year, more than 230,000 people have entered Panama through the Darién. According to Panama’s Interior Ministry, 153,226 of those are Venezuelan, 14,659 are Colombian, 14,569 are Ecuadorian and 12,067 are Chinese.

This marks a 30% increase in crossings compared to the same period from January to August 2023, Panama’s migration agency chief Roger Mojica said Tuesday.
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Credit: CNN