The United States has deported 119 migrants of various nationalities to Panama as part of an agreement between President Donald Trump's administration and the Central American country, Reuters reported, reports News.bg.
Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino said the first flight carried migrants from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. He said two more flights were expected, bringing the total number of deportees to 360.
After arriving in Panama, the migrants will be temporarily housed in a shelter near Darien - the dangerous jungle that connects Central and South America and through which thousands of migrants pass in an attempt to reach the United States. They will remain under the supervision of local authorities until their final repatriation.
Earlier this month, after talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Mulino stressed that sovereignty over the Panama Canal is not up for discussion. However, he admitted that the possibility of expanding the migrant repatriation program is possible.
At the same meeting, the Panamanian president announced that the memorandum of understanding signed in July with the US Department of Homeland Security could be expanded to cover a larger number of deported migrants.