Australian National Review – Panama deports Colombian illegal immigrants on first US-funded flights

Panama has carried out the first ever deportation flights for illegal immigrants, funded by the United States under a repatriation agreement signed with Washington last month.

According to officials from Washington and the Latin American country, the majority of illegal immigrants entering Panama are bound for the United States.

The people on the deportation flight had entered the country illegally via the Panama-Colombia border, traveling through the Darien jungle, also known as the Darien Gap, the statement said.

Photos released with the statement showed the illegal immigrants lined up on the runway next to the plane and being checked by police using metal detectors.

The illegal immigrants were handcuffed and tied up and appeared to have no luggage with them.

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Panamanian Deputy Security Minister Luis Felipe Icaza said some of the people deported on the flights had criminal records in their home countries.

One of the illegal immigrants is believed to be linked to a high-profile case involving the Clan del Golfo, also known as the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, one of the main drug cartels operating in the region.

It is unclear how much the State Department has budgeted for the program. The Epoch Times reached out to the State Department for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

The next flights under the deal will be announced in the coming days, although the latest statement said talks were already underway with Ecuador and India.

The frequency of the flights will depend on the flow of illegal immigrants into Panama. The director of the country’s National Migration Service, Roger Mojica, said in the statement that the government has already seen a 30 percent drop in illegal border crossings since it signed the deal in July.

According to Mojica, more than 230,000 people have entered the country illegally through Darien in 2024. In August, that number was already more than 8,000.

According to the statement, 520,000 illegal immigrants entered Panama through the Darien jungle in 2023, 60 percent of whom were Venezuelan citizens trying to reach the United States.

Panama cannot send Venezuelans back to their home country after the two countries suspended diplomatic relations in June. The suspension followed Panama’s refusal to recognize the results of Venezuela’s presidential election, in which the country’s electoral body declared President Nicolás Maduro the winner.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.