The president had previously stated that the flights would first take the migrants to Colombia, the country from which they entered Panama.

It is still unclear whether flights will be organized from Colombia to repatriate them to their home countries.

According to Panamanian government data, Venezuelans make up the largest proportion of migrants crossing the Darién Gap, followed by Colombians, Ecuadorians and Haitians.

There are widespread concerns in the region that the influx of people from Venezuela could increase in the coming months if the political crisis triggered by the announcement of the disputed election results is not resolved.

In the run-up to the election, polls had indicated that a large number of Venezuelans would plan to emigrate if President Nicolás Maduro won the election.

Tensions have been high since he was declared the winner by the government-dominated National Electoral Council, while the result was rejected as fraudulent by the opposition and questioned by the US, the EU and numerous Latin American countries.

Panama’s President Mulino offered Maduro “safe passage” earlier this month so that the Venezuelan president could travel to a third country. However, Maduro rejected his offer and warned his Panamanian counterpart not to “mess with” Venezuela.