Panama moves 98 deportees to Darien camp amid ongoing US deportation efforts

Panama transferred 98 deportees from various nations it had received from the United States to a camp in its Darien province Wednesday, an area that became the main thoroughfare for migrants travelling from South America to the US border in recent years, a government official said.

The migrants sent to Darien had refused to voluntarily be repatriated to their countries and will be held there until third countries can be found to take them, said the Panamanian official familiar with the situation who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

They were part of a larger group of 299 migrants to Panama by the US government as the administration of US President Donald Trump tries to accelerate deportations.