PANAMA CITY, March 2 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — Panama deported 25 Colombian citizens, three of them with criminal records, as part of a memorandum signed with the United States last July, as was reported today.
The statement of the National Migration Service (SNM) specifies that in the flight 40 three undocumented travellers related to crimes of terrorism, illegal possession of firearms and money laundering travelled to the city of Medellin.
According to the SNM, the number of illegal travellers entering the Darien jungle, on the border with Colombia, on their way to the northern country reached 2,637 people so far this year, which represents a reduction of 96 percent compared to the same period last year.
The government of José Raúl Mulino links the drop in migratory traffic to measures such as the closing of illegal trails in the jungle, the opening of a single humanitarian corridor that ends in the community of Lajas Blancas, the increase in maritime patrols, the application of fines for irregular entry into the country, the rainy season in recent months, and the deportation flight program financed by Washington.
These restrictions have been in place since last year, which closed with 300,549 migrants arriving in Panama after crossing the jungle, 41 percent less than the record 511,103 in 2023. — NNN-PRENSA LATINA
