More than 100 deportees were transported to Panama this week as the Central American nation acts as a stopover for expelled migrants in an agreement with the US.
A US Air Force plane carrying 119 people from countries including China, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka touched down in Panama City Wednesday in what’s expected to be the first of three migrant flights, according to Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino.
“Yesterday a flight from the United States Air Force arrived with 119 people from diverse nationalities of the world,” Mulino said during a press briefing Thursday.
Migrants from Venezuela board a bus to Paso Canoas the border between Costa Rica and Panama after being stopped attempting to cross into the United States on Feb. 11, 2025. REUTERSIn total, the US will send Panama 360 deportees, who will then be taken to a shelter in Darien before they are returned to their country of origin on flights funded by the US government, Mulino said.
“It’s not something massive,” he added, explaining that the deportees were detained after crossing the US border and did not have criminal records.
Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Ruiz Hernández said the agreement between the two nations was something the Trump administration requested.
Marco Rubio traveled to Panama last week for his first international trip as secretary of state and met with Mulino, who offered the country to serve as a bridge to send US deportees back to their countries.
While Panama has made dozens of deportation flights, most funded by the US government, since Mulino took office last year, the country’s compliance also comes after Trump’s repeated demands for the US to retake control of the Panama Canal.
Colombian migrants deported from Panama arrive at the Jose Maria Cordova International Airport on Feb. 13, 2025. AFP via Getty Images
Migrants argue with border agents in Panama as they try and cross between Panama and Costa Rica as they try to return to Venezuela on Feb. 11, 2025. AFP via Getty Images
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio walsk with Panama’s Minister of Public Security Frank Alexis Abrego after the deportation flight took off. via REUTERSThe controversial topic was heavily discussed during Rubio’s visit, in addition to Panama’s efforts to slow migration through the Darien Gap.
Rubio also secured agreements with Guatemala and El Salvador to accept migrants from other nations in an effort that fulfills Trump’s plan to carry out mass deportations.
With Post wires
