Panama has received its first U.S. military flight carrying 119 deported migrants of various nationalities, marking the start of its role as a transit hub under a new agreement with Washington.
The plane, which arrived Wednesday at Howard airbase near Panama City, carried migrants from multiple countries, including China and Pakistan. The deportees are being housed temporarily in hotels before their transfer to a shelter in the Darien jungle, where they will await repatriation flights.
President José Raúl Mulino, who has positioned Panama as a key partner in U.S. deportation efforts, emphasized his country’s commitment to the migration crackdown. “We hope to get them out of there as soon as possible,” he said, highlighting Panama’s role in addressing the regional migration crisis.
US-Panama Deal: Migration and Canal Tensions
The development follows a recent visit by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who met with Mulino to discuss migration policy and U.S. concerns over alleged Chinese influence on the Panama Canal. Rubio expressed optimism about Panama’s cooperation on U.S. priorities, including migrant repatriation.
Mulino offered the U.S. access to an airstrip in Metetí, Darien, a region that has become a notorious crossing point for migrants traveling from South America to the United States.
The deal builds on an agreement signed under former President Joe Biden, which included $6 million in U.S. support for Panama’s deportation efforts. Since then, Panama has shut down several migration routes through the Darien Gap and deported migrants to countries such as Colombia and Ecuador.
Trump’s Crackdown Intensifies
The flight is part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown, declared hours after he returned to office on January 20. Trump, who vowed to deport “millions and millions” of undocumented migrants, has already implemented mass deportations to destinations including Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, and Guatemala, with some migrants sent to the U.S. military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Desperation at the Darien
The crackdown is already causing ripple effects. On Tuesday, Panamanian riot police turned back dozens of Venezuelan migrants near the Costa Rican border. The group, disheartened by Trump’s deportation policy, had abandoned their northbound journey and sought to return home but were redirected for an orderly repatriation process.
With more U.S. deportation flights expected, Panama finds itself at the center of a growing migration crisis—one shaped by U.S. policy, regional instability, and the desperate journeys of those seeking a better life.
