Panama, govt. attempts to mitigate irregular migration in Darien

teleSUR English

*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

Transcript

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 Agandí.

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.

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