US and Panama agree to close crossing and repatriate migrants

The governments of Panama and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Monday in which the US Administration “undertakes to cover the cost of repatriation” of migrants through Darienthe natural border with Colombia that is used by hundreds of people every day on their way to North America, according to authorities.

“In the agreement signed today by Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, the U.S. government agrees to cover the cost of repatriating immigrants who enter illegally through Darién,” said a statement from the office of the new Panamanian president, José Raúl Mulino, who took office on Monday.

This MOU on “assistance and cooperation” in migration matters “This will allow us to close the passage of illegal immigrants through Darien, an issue that has become a serious humanitarian crisis.”

The text of the agreement, according to the note, indicates that it seeks to “support Panama with equipment, transportation and logistics for foreigners detected within migratory flows in violation of Panama’s immigration laws,” who will be “subject to administrative immigration measures in accordance with Panamanian law.”

End human trafficking

Panama, for its part, committed itself in the MOU “to Comply with all international agreements and conventions on the rights of immigrants and those in refugee status“.

“The President of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, is committed to resolving the Darién crisis and ending the illegal business of human trafficking,” the statement concluded.

Shortly before the announcement was made public, Mulino had already stated during his inaugural speech that “Panama will no longer be a transit country for illegal immigrants.”

“I will not allow local complicity. I ask our security forces to apply the law as appropriate, with strict respect for human rights and adherence to the defense of the interests of our country,” said the president of Panama.

“I will not allow Panama to be an open path for thousands of people who enter our country illegally, supported by an international organization related to drug trafficking and human trafficking. That money that comes from profiting from human misfortune is cursed money,” said Mulino.

High economic cost for Panama

He added that Panama cannot “continue financing the economic cost – which in the past was at $100 million dollars annually– and social damage that massive illegal immigration generates in the country with the consequent link to international criminal organizations that generate insecurity at an international level and force Panamanian security agents “to neglect our territorial and maritime security in other parts of the country.”

For her part, the spokeswoman for the US National Security Council, Adrienne Watson, said in a statement that the government of President JBiden will “support Panama’s efforts to begin the rapid, safe, and humane repatriation of migrants who lack a legal basis to remain in Panama.”

With these repatriations to the “country of origin, we will help deter irregular migration” in the region and on the border between the United States and Mexico and “stop the enrichment” of human trafficking networks, he added.

So far this year, more than 195,000 migrants have crossed the jungle, mostly Venezuelans, while in 2023 there were more than 520,000, an unprecedented figure, according to official data.

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