Panama president says repatriation of migrants crossing the Darien Gap will be voluntary
by: ALMA SOLÍS, Associated Press
Posted: Jul 19, 2024 / 05:15 PM CDT
Updated: Jul 19, 2024 / 05:15 PM CDT
PANAMA CITY (AP) — Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino said Thursday that migrants entering Panama through the treacherous Darien Gap will only be sent back to their countries if they agree to do so, potentially diminishing the impact of stricter immigration enforcement Mulino had pushed.
Mulino, who took office July 1, promised to halt the rising flow of migrants entering his country from Colombia and reached an agreement for the U.S. government to pay for repatriation flights.
But Thursday, he made clear whose problem this really is — and minimized Panama’s role.
“This is a United States problem that we are managing. People don’t want to live here in Panama, they want to go to the United States,” he said in his first weekly press conference. If migrants don’t want to return to their countries, “then they’ll go (to the U.S.). I can’t arrest them, we can’t forcibly repatriate them.”
https://www.borderreport.com/regions/central-america/panama-president-says-repatriation-of-migrants-crossing-the-darien-gap-will-be-voluntary/
