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Panama- The first deportation flight of Ecuadorian irregular migrants through the Darien jungle, funded by the United States within the framework of an agreement with Panama, flew on Thursday from the Panamanian capital to the Ecuadorian city of Manta.
The flight, carrying 30 Ecuadorian citizens, took off from Marcos A. Grabert Airport on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal and headed for the port city of Manta, an official source told EFE.
The Ecuadorian migrants, an unknown number of whom had criminal records and some with irregular immigration status, arrived at the airport in handcuffs and boarded the plane at 7:35 pm local time (00:35 GMT) after watching a documentary, according to the source, who was under control.
Among the citizens, three women were included, 28 were deported, two were deported, and among the migrants, nine “high-profile” individuals were linked to homicide, drug trafficking, illegal association, organized crime, petty trafficking and gang activities, said Erly Estela Miranda, head of the National Migration Service (SNM).
On August 20, the first US-funded flight under the bilateral agreement signed on July 1 left Panama for Medellín, carrying approximately 30 deported Colombian migrants.
Four days later, on Saturday, August 24, Panamanian authorities repatriated another group of about 30 Colombian citizens with irregular immigration status, with another flight carrying migrants of this nationality scheduled to take off on August 30.
“The work the Panamanian government is doing on this issue is a model for the region,” Maren Pinheiro, a regional attaché at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said Thursday.
Panama and the United States signed the agreement to repatriate migrants crossing the Darién River, a jungle border with Colombia that is experiencing a crisis due to the flow of migrants. In 2023, the number of migrants in the Darién River reached 520,000, an unprecedented number.
Under the agreement, “people with (criminal) records and irregular immigrants, that is, all those who enter through Darien,” will be subject to deportation or deportation, according to the regulations. Roger Mojica, director of the Panama National Migration Service (SNM).
The agreement implies US support worth $6 million, which is why Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino recalled last week that the flights for the migrants to return home “will not be at any cost to Panama.”
Mulino said Chinese citizens were also scheduled to return to their country, but he did not reveal a specific date, but he did point out that one of the 70 flights scheduled to leave for India is scheduled for next Tuesday (September 3).
According to official data provided by the Panamanian Ministry of Public Security on Thursday, 324,204 people crossed the Darién jungle between January and August 2023, while 236,621 people crossed during the same period this year, “which means a decrease of more than 85,000 people”, which is equivalent to a change of 27%.
“With the first flight to Ecuador, the implementation of the Panama-US agreement continues to combat illegal immigration,” the security entity said in a statement.
Most of the migrants crossing the Darien River are reportedly Venezuelan, but because Panama’s diplomatic relations with Venezuela have been suspended due to the post-election crisis, there are no plans to return nationals of that country, and they are allowed to continue returning. Panamanian authorities. EFE/Pound
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