Panama sends 97 deportees from US to the Darien camp after they refused to return to their countries
Source: Associated Press
Panama sends 97 deportees from US to the Darien camp after they refused to return to their countries
By JUAN ZAMORANO
Updated 10:01 PM EST, February 19, 2025
PANAMA CITY (AP) — Panama transferred about one-third of the deportees from various nations it had received from the United States to a camp in its Darien province Wednesday, an area that became the main thoroughfare for migrants traveling from South America to the U.S. border in recent years, security officials said late Wednesday.
The migrants sent to Darien had refused to voluntarily be repatriated to their countries and will be held there until third countries can be found to take them, said a Panamanian official familiar with the situation who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
They were part of a larger group of 299 migrants to Panama by the U.S. government as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump tries to accelerate deportations.
Panama’s Security Ministry said in a statement later Wednesday that 97 migrants had been sent to the camp in Darien province and eight more would be sent there in the coming hours. It said 13 migrants had already been voluntarily returned to their countries.
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Panama’s National Immigration Service had announced earlier Wednesday that one migrant, a Chinese woman, had escaped the hotel, but later authorities reported her recapture.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/panama-deportees-chinese-woman-hotel-2bc1239f680725d7a560f6a6c8b130e7