U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said cooperation with Panama has sent “a clear message” the U.S. will act to curb illegal immigration, as he observed a U.S.-funded deportation flight departing from Albrook International Airport in Panama on Monday morning.
The flight returned dozens of undocumented Colombians to their home country. According to a Colombian official, 32 men and 11 women were repatriated, including seven individuals with criminal records.
On July 1, 2024 — the first day of Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino’s term — the U.S. and Panama signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at jointly reducing the number of migrants illegally crossing through Panama’s Darien region en route to the United States.
The program is funded by the U.S. State Department and implemented by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Monday’s deportation was carried out under the MOU and following a State Department waiver that lifted a previous pause on U.S. foreign aid.
“This is an effective way to stem the flow of illegal migration, of mass migration, which is destructive and destabilizing,” Rubio told reporters at the Albrook International Airport.
“This flight today was possible due to a waiver that we’ve issued,” he added. “We’re going to issue a broader one to continue this cooperation.”
Under the 2024 MOU, the United States has provided nearly $2.7 million to fund flights and tickets to repatriate migrants to their countries of origin.
Since the first repatriation flight on August 20, 2024, over 40 charter flights have been conducted from Panama to more than 14 countries, returning more than 1,700 undocumented migrants. Destinations have included Colombia, Ecuador, India, and Vietnam.
Panama recently reported a 90% decrease in migrants crossing the Darien region compared to the same period last year.
Canal controversy
On Sunday, Rubio warned Panama that Washington will “take necessary measures” if Panama does not take immediate steps to end what U.S. President Donald Trump described as China’s “influence and control” over the Panama Canal.
“Secretary Rubio made clear that this status quo is unacceptable,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement after Rubio’s talks with Mulino.
Mulino also announced that Panama has decided not to renew a 2017 memorandum with China on Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative and will seek to void agreements with the Chinese government before their official expiration dates.
“We’ll study the possibility of terminating it early,” Mulino added on Sunday.
The Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI, is a massive infrastructure project launched by China in 2013 under President Xi Jinping, aiming to connect multiple continents through land and maritime routes. The United States has cautioned that the BRI “is fueled by China’s mission to manipulate and undermine the global rules-based trading system for its own benefit.”
Rubio will next head to El Salvador where he will meet with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and Foreign Minister Alexandra Hill Tinoco.
