Agreement between Panama and the US aims to shut down Darién Gap

Under a deal between the US and Panama, the US will cover the costs of repatriating migrants who enter Panama illegally.

In his first address as president, José Raúl Mulino promised to seek international assistance to find solutions to what he described as a costly “humanitarian and environmental crisis”.

Last year, a record 520,000 migrants risked their lives, often at the hands of people smugglers, to traverse the Darién Gap, a dense jungle on Panama’s border with Colombia.

“We cannot continue financing the economic and social costs that massive illegal immigration generates for the country, along with the consequent connection of international criminal organizations,” Mulino said.

The agreement has been signed by US homeland security.