Girl dies as boat with migrants blocked from US sinks off Panama

By AFP
February 24, 2025
A boat of indigenous Gunas sails under heavy rain and wind in the port of Carti, Guna Yala territory, Panama on 22 February 2025. — AFP
A boat of indigenous Gunas sails under heavy rain and wind in the port of Carti, Guna Yala territory, Panama on 22 February 2025. — AFP

PANAMA CITY: A boat carrying 19 South American migrants blocked from entering the United States sank off the coast of Panama as they returned to their home countries, leaving an 8-year-old Venezuelan girl dead, authorities said on Saturday.

The boat went down Friday night “due to strong waves caused by bad weather” in Caribbean waters off northeast Panama, the country´s Senafront border service said. Aboard were migrants from Venezuela and Colombia, and two crew members. Aside from the girl who died, the others were all rescued, Senafront said.

“The event occurred in the context of the reverse migratory flow,” the agency said. The migrants were returning home from Mexico and Central American countries after giving up on trying to enter the United States amid President Donald Trump´s crackdown on illegal entries. They were traveling by boat to avoid crossing Panama´s treacherous Darien jungle, with dangers including fast-flowing rivers, wild animals and criminal gangs.