On Thursday, Panama’s new president ruled out the forced repatriation of illegal migrants who make the dangerous jungle crossing from Colombia to the United States, apparently softening his stance.
“We cannot put them in prison. We cannot forcibly repatriate them,” Jose Raul Mulino said at a press conference.
Last year, more than half a million people ventured through the so-called Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama, where they experienced dangerous river crossings and violent criminal gangs who extorted, kidnapped and abused them.
During his election campaign, Mulino promised to deport migrants and close the important route.
After being sworn in on July 1, the conservative lawyer said his Central American country would no longer be a “transit point” for undocumented migrants.
Soon after, Panama signed an agreement with the United States that pledged $6 million in funds to repatriate migrants in the hope of reducing the number of illegal crossings at the country’s southern border.
On July 2, Eric Jacobstein, a senior U.S. State Department official, said the repatriations would begin “in the coming weeks.”
While most people crossing the Darién River are fleeing the economic crisis in Venezuela, migrants from Africa and Asia are also entering the remote rainforest to reach the United States.
So far in 2024, 212,000 people have crossed the Darién from Colombia – a decrease of 9,000 compared to the same period in 2023, Panama’s border police chief Jorge Gobea said on Wednesday.
Panamanian authorities have closed some of the jungle trails used by migrants, but others remain open.
Mulino said the measures had contributed to the decline in arrivals, adding that the situation in Venezuela would be “an important factor” for future migration flows.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro criticized the closure of the routes and warned that it would cause even more migrants to drown while trying to continue their journey across the sea.
“Migration will be stopped by removing economic blockades and improving the economy of South America,” Petro said on social media.
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