By Raul Castillo
01 Jul 2024, 19:34 PM EDT
The United States promised Panama on Monday to “cover the cost of repatriation” of migrants crossing the Darien jungle, the natural border with Colombia that is used by hundreds of migrants every day on their way to North America.
The new Panamanian government, which took office on Monday, announced the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU).
“In the agreement signed today by Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, the U.S. government agrees to cover the cost of repatriating immigrants who enter illegally through Darién,” the office of the new Panamanian president, José Raúl Mulino, reported in a statement, according to EFE.
Mulino, who took office in Panama promising to close the Darien region without specifying how, had said in recent weeks that he would seek to sign the agreement with the Biden administration.
Although it does not explicitly mention closing the jungle, both governments assure that the agreement “will allow the passage of illegal immigrants through Darien to be closed, an issue that has become a serious humanitarian crisis.”
Specifically, in the memorandum the United States undertakes to: “Support Panama with equipment, transportation and logistics for foreigners detected within migratory flows in violation of Panama’s immigration laws (hereinafter, “irregular immigration flows”) who will be subject to administrative immigration measures in accordance with Panamanian law.”
Panama’s commitments
Panama, for its part, committed itself in the MOU “to comply with all international agreements and conventions on the rights of immigrants and those in refugee status.”
“The President of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, is committed to resolving the Darién crisis and ending the illegal business of human trafficking,” the statement concluded, according to the EFE news agency.
Hours before the signing of the agreement, the new Panamanian president gave a harsh speech against irregular migration during his inauguration.
“I will not allow Panama to be an open path for thousands of people who enter our country illegally, supported by an international organization related to drug trafficking and human trafficking. This money, the product of profiting from human misfortune, is a cursed money,” declared Mulino.
He added that Panama cannot “continue to finance the economic cost – which in the past he put at 100 million dollars annually – and the social cost that massive illegal immigration generates for the country with the consequent involvement of international criminal organizations that generate insecurity at an international level and force” Panamanian security agents “to neglect our territorial and maritime security in other parts of the country.”
Mulino is also expected to discuss the situation in Darien with Colombian President Gustavo Petro.
According to official data, more than 195,000 migrants have crossed the jungle so far this year, most of them Venezuelans. While in 2023 there were more than 520,000.
Keep reading:
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- How feasible is it to close the Darien Gap to migrants as proposed by José Raúl Mulino, the president-elect of Panama?
- Unicef: Number of migrant children crossing the Darien River increases by 40%