Pakistanis among 119 deportees who reach Panama aboard US plane

PANAMA CITY: Panama said on Thursday it had received a first US military plane transporting 119 deportees of various nationalities, who will now be repatriated to their own countries.

President Jose Raul Mulino, who has offered his country as a stopover for migrants expelled from the United States by the Donald Trump administration, said the plane arrived on Wednesday with “people of the most diverse nationalities,” many from Asia.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Panama two weeks ago, meeting Mulino in the midst of a dispute over ownership of the Panama Canal, which Trump had vowed the United States would be “taking back.”

After the visit, Rubio voiced optimism Panama would address US concerns, including over alleged Chinese influence on the operation of the critical US-built waterway. Mulino also promised to step up cooperation on the new administration´s top priority -- repatriating undocumented migrants.

He offered Rubio the use of an airstrip in the town of Meteti in Darien, the dense jungle that has become a major crossing point for migrants seeking to exit South America en route to the United States. Trump´s predecessor Joe Biden had already sealed a deal after Mulino´s election last year to provide $6 million to assist in expelling migrants.

Since then, Panama has closed several routes in the Darien and deported migrants on flights to countries including Colombia and Ecuador. On his first day in office last month, Trump declared a national emergency at the southern US border and vowed to deport “millions and millions” of migrants.

Mulino said a US Air Force plane landed at Howard west of the capital Panama City Wednesday, and the 119 migrants onboard were taken to hotels. From there, they will be transported to a shelter in the Darien, and flown home on repatriation flights from an airstrip in the jungle.

“We hope to get them out of there as soon as possible,” said Mulino, as he underlined the “contribution that Panama is making on the migration issue.” The deportees included citizens of China, Pakistan and other Asian countries, said the president, adding more planes are expected from the United States soon.

Latin America is the original home of most of the United States´ estimated 11 million undocumented migrants. Many had made the dangerous journey through the Darien, braving treacherous terrain, wild animals and criminal gangs for a chance at a better life.

On Tuesday, Panamanian police turned back dozens of migrants, mostly Venezuelans, trying to return home after abandoning their journey to the United States over Trump´s deportation intentions.