{"id":1485105,"date":"2024-08-21T20:40:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-22T00:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1485105"},"modified":"2024-08-21T20:40:00","modified_gmt":"2024-08-22T00:40:00","slug":"return-to-sender-panama-starts-flying-migrants-home-at-us-taxpayer-expense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/return-to-sender-panama-starts-flying-migrants-home-at-us-taxpayer-expense\/1485105\/","title":{"rendered":"Return To Sender: Panama Starts Flying Migrants Home… At US Taxpayer Expense"},"content":{"rendered":"

Return To Sender: Panama Starts Flying Migrants Home… At US Taxpayer Expense<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The Republic of Panama on Tuesday initiated a new program by which illegal immigrants transiting the country are flown back to their native nations — with the cost borne by US taxpayers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The repatriation flight program is one of multiple avenues by which new Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino is following through on\u00a0his campaign pledge<\/a> to end his country’s role as a major funnel of illegal immigrants bound for the United States. Last year saw a new record, with more than a half-million migrants<\/a> crossing the infamous\u00a0Darien Gap jungle wilderness <\/strong>that spans the Panama-Colombia border region.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Under watch of dozens of National Border Service officers, a shackled Colombian migrant boards a plane at Panama City’s Tocumen International Airport<\/strong> (Aris Martinez via Reuters<\/em><\/a>)<\/a><\/p>\n

Tuesday’s first repatriation flight was loaded with 29 Colombians, all of whom have criminal records<\/strong> in their home country, with one alleged<\/a> to be a member of the powerful\u00a0Clan del Golfo<\/a> gang, aka the Gaitanistas. Each was caught after they’d made it through the Darien Gap, and were in handcuffs and ankle-irons as they were guided onto an Air Panama plane. Panama’s senior migration-management officer, Roger Mojica, told<\/a> reporters that flights to other destinations are in the works — including India and Ecuador — with the next flight happening as soon as Friday<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Critically, the deportation of Venezuelans — who represent the largest subset of the illegal migrant flow — could be delayed<\/strong>, thanks to Panama’s suspension of diplomacy with Venezuela following July’s contested presidential election. Pre-election polls indicated many Venezuelans intended to leave their country<\/a> if President Nicolas Maduro won. His declared victory is in dispute, and the Biden administration wants him to regime change himself<\/a>. Supporting Washington’s agenda, Panama’s Mulino offered Maduro “safe passage”<\/a>\u00a0en route to a third country; Maduro warned Mulino not to “mess” with Venezuela.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Migrants slogging their way across the dangerous Darien Gap. The top four countries of origin are Venezuela, then Colombia, Ecuador and Haiti<\/strong>\u00a0(Getty Images via BBC<\/em><\/a>)<\/a><\/p>\n

In accordance with a deal announced<\/a> on the same July day on which Mulino was sworn into office, the United States government will cover\u00a0Panama’s expenses for deporting people who enter Panama illegally,<\/strong>\u00a0in addition to helping with “equipment, transportation and logistics.” The initial commitment has America on the hook for $6 million<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The famed Pan-American Highway has a 66-mile gap that starts just inside Colombia — forcing migrants\u00a0<\/strong>to make a treacherous journey on foot\u00a0through a mountainous, marshy region called the Darien Gap<\/strong>.\u00a0They not only have to survive dangerous natural conditions, but robberies, kidnappings, rapes and murders perpetrated by criminal gangs lurking in the hot jungle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Panamanian border police arrested 15 people linked to an illicit “VIP” migrant-smuggling operation that caters to Chinese clients<\/strong>. Using boats, canoes, ATVs and horses, the top-tier service<\/a> promised a faster, easier and safer passage into Panama — at a higher price.\u00a0Migrants pay about $500 for a standard escort through the gap, but fees for the expedited trip range from $2,600 to $8,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Referring to Tuesday’s flight taking Colombians back home, the US Department of Homeland Security’s Marlen Pineiro told reporters, “The message we’re sending is very clear: Darien is no longer a route.”<\/a>\u00a0Considering she was referring to a few dozen Colombians against an estimated 8,000 people<\/a> who crossed the gap in just the first few weeks of August, that’s some pretty big talk.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nWed, 08\/21\/2024 – 16:40<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bhttps:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/geopolitical\/return-sender-panama-starts-flying-migrants-home-us-taxpayer-expense<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Return To Sender: Panama Starts Flying Migrants Home… At US Taxpayer Expense The Republic of Panama on Tuesday initiated a new program by which illegal…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1485106,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1485105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1485105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1485105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1485105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1485106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1485105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1485105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1485105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}