PANAMA CITY, Nov 3 (NNN-TELESUR) — Over 1,016 migrants have arrived in Panama on their way to the US during the last two months despite the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities reported.
The Vice Minister of Public Security of Panama, Ivor Pitti, explained that most of them are stranded in Colombia’s border. Still, shelters and all the basic logistic was arranged in Darien province, near the border.
The authorities said that 462 migrants arrived in Panama in September. Another 554 crossed the border during October, which demonstrates that the COVID-19 pandemic risks have not stopped the flow of people. Moreover, many of them are infected and have to remain isolated.
The official explained that most illegal migrants come from Haiti, Chile, Brazil, India, Ecuador, Guinea, Pakistan, Angola, and Sri Lanka. The migrants aim to pass through Panama to Costa Rica and then continue their way north.
On Oct 1, the first migrant caravan since March departed from Honduras to Guatemala, but its authorities detained and deported many of them. — NNN-TELESUR
