Panama announces more migrant deportation flights to Ecuador, India and China

PANAMA CITY: ON PB Media: The Panamanian government announced additional deportation flights for migrants apprehended in the Central American country of Ecuador, India and China in a bid to slow the flow of mostly US-bound migration. Panama’s recently appointed President José Mulino campaigned on a promise to end his country’s status as a major migrant transit point. Funded by Washington, deportation flights began earlier this week with the first planeload of Colombian migrants. The flights come three months before November’s US presidential election, where illegal immigration has emerged as a major issue. For years, migrants from South America and beyond have attempted to cross on foot the dangerous Darien Gap jungle, which connects Colombia to Panama to the United States.
Mulino did not specify the legal status of the migrants who would be deported to Ecuador or the two Asian countries, or whether they have criminal records. Flights to Ecuador will depart on August 29, to Colombia on August 30 and to India on September 3. Mulino said additional flights to Colombia would take place between August 24-30, but he did not specify the dates or number of flights to China.