Panama, govt. attempts to mitigate irregular migration in Darien
*520k+ migrants in 2023, approximately 800k in 2024
*Pres. Mulino relies on strategies to tackle migration consequences
*The U.S. will bear the cost of repatriation
*Pres. Mulino relies on strategies to tackle migration consequences
*The U.S. will bear the cost of repatriation
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NewsTranscript
00:00Several groups and organizations have criticized the installation of barbed wire fences in
00:04some of the trails through which migrants pass by the Colombia-Panama border bound for
00:11the United States.
00:12The measure has generated controversy both in the country and internationally.
00:16Televisual correspondent Reca Chandi Ramani has the details.
00:21The Panamanian government began its administration with the aim of putting an end to the irregular
00:26migration that has caused a humanitarian crisis in the Darién, for which José Raúl
00:31Molino announced measures before taking office.
00:38The patrols of the National Border Service have begun to set up blockades in most of
00:43these border paths, and so far one of these has been left open, notifying both the Colombian
00:50authorities and the people arriving at our border, which is the only place through which
00:56passage will be allowed.
01:00More than 520 migrants crossed the Darién in 2033, and an estimated 800,000 people are
01:06expected to end up crossing these tiers en route to the United States.
01:10The Panamanian government will repatriate those who enter without a passport, and also
01:15put up wire fences at some entry points, which has generated several criticisms.
01:27Putting a stop to this exodus is what puts us in discussion.
01:32How is it done?
01:34There is a position that is to repress.
01:37To close borders, in that case of the Darién plug, it is to plug the plug, which is quite
01:43difficult.
01:45The people who organize the exodus, maritime routes, etc., use it.
01:50I believe that this position is not effective.
01:56Although the Panamanian state has the right to manage its migratory policy, what this
02:01type of action does is dehumanize the migrant population, first, because the same thing
02:09happened in Texas last year.
02:11They put up a fence, and streamers and everyone in the United States condemned it.
02:17It so happens that now Panama is doing it, and they are not criticizing it.
02:24This is a violation of human rights.
02:27Second thing, they are going to provoke an imprisonment or social entrapment in the area
02:32of Colombia and in the beach area, especially in AgandÃ.
02:40The Panamanian government agrees that the conditions of the migratory flow in Darién
02:44are often subhuman, and even President Molino has described the money it generates for those
02:49who profit from it as cursed money.
02:51However, he has opted for strategies against the immediate consequences of migration without
02:56addressing, at least not publicly, the structural causes.
03:02The issue of a trade embargo, or whatever you want to call it, embargo, blockade, whatever
03:08nomenclature you can give it, what is certain is that it is an absolute and total violation
03:15of international law.
03:17I have not seen any other country endure more than 50 years of these policies.
03:23It does not punish the governments, it punishes the peoples.
03:29The United States will bear the cost of repatriation following an agreement signed with Panamanian
03:35President José Raúl Molino on his first day in office.
03:39For TELASUR, from Panama City, Rega Chandiramani.