Panama City, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Panama's President, Jose Raul Mulino, announced that the United States has deported 119 individuals from various countries to Panama as part of an agreement between President Donald Trump's administration and Panama. Mulino stated at a press conference that the first flight from the U.S. arrived with individuals from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam, with two more flights expected soon, totaling 360 individuals being sent to Panama.
The deported individuals will be temporarily housed near the Darien jungle, the route many migrants take to cross from Central America to South America attempting to reach the U.S. Mulino highlighted, "Yesterday (Wednesday), a U.S. Air Force flight landed with 119 individuals of diverse nationalities as part of a collaboration program with the U.S. government."
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not provide immediate comment on the matter. Mulino, following discussions with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this month, affirmed Panama's sovereignty over the Panama Canal and suggested the potential repatriation of more migrants. He also mentioned expanding the memorandum of understanding initiated in July with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to repatriate Venezuelans, Colombians, and Ecuadorians from the hazardous Darien Gap at U.S. expense, utilizing an airstrip in Panama.
Furthermore, Panama’s deputy minister for security, Luis Icaza, attributed a 90% reduction in migrant flow across the Darien in January, compared to the previous year, to the effective bilateral collaboration between Panama and the U.S.