Panama Offers Flights Paid for by the United States to Returning Migrants

• Panama has announced this week that Colombian, Ecuadorian, and Venezuelan migrants residing in Colombia returning from North America will be able to be included on repatriation flights to these two countries, paid for by the United States. 

• “Within the migration memorandum of understanding that Panama signed with the United States (on July 1, 2024), we have also achieved that those individuals, such as Colombians, Ecuadorians, and Venezuelans residing in Colombia, can approach immigration, and we will finance their transfer to those countries through that memorandum,” said Roger Mojica, director of the National Migration Service. 

• He explained that “if there is anyone interested in that regard, we will include them as part of the memorandum of understanding program, and their transfer will be financed as if it were the flights we are operating, because the flow through Darién has decreased. We still have the funds, and we can take advantage of those opportunities we established with the United States.” So far, only Colombian, Ecuadorian, and Venezuelan migrants residing in Colombia can apply for the return flights, according to official information.

• For context, on July 1, 2024, the same day Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino took office, the United States and Panama signed a memorandum of understanding to reduce the migratory flow through the Darién Gap, the jungle bordering Colombia used daily by migrants who dream of reaching the United States in search of better living conditions. Since then, the U.S. has funded nearly $2.7Mn in flights and tickets for the return of migrants to their countries of origin through that agreement, according to information from the U.S. government released last February. 

• More than 40 charter flights have been carried out to more than 14 countries, including Colombia, Ecuador, India, and Vietnam, with 1,729 migrants. In addition to commercial flights to repatriate people from countries such as Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Ghana, and Turkey, according to official data shared by U.S. authorities. 

(Source: Newsroom Panama)