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Migrants in Panama deported from US moved to Darien jungle region
The migrants include people from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, according to Panama’s president, Jose Raul Mulino, who has agreed with the U.S. to receive non-Panamanian deportees.
A group of nearly 100 migrants deported from the U.S. to Panama last week has been moved from a hotel in the capital to the Darien jungle region in the south of the country, Panama’s government said on Wednesday.
In a statement, Panama’s security ministry said of the 299 migrants deported from the U.S. in recent days, 13 had been repatriated to their countries of origin while another 175 remained in the hotel in Panama City awaiting onward journeys after agreeing to return home, Reuters reported.
The migrants have been staying at the hotel under the protection of local authorities and with the financial support of the United States through the U.N.-related International Organization for Migration and the U.N. refugee agency, according to the Panamanian government.
The migrants include people from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, according to Panama’s president, Jose Raul Mulino, who has agreed with the U.S. to receive non-Panamanian deportees.
The deportation of non-Panamanian migrants to Panama is part of the Trump administration’s attempt to ramp up deportations of migrants living in the U.S. illegally, read the report.
One of the challenges of Trump’s plan is that some migrants come from countries that refuse to accept U.S. deportation flights due to strained diplomatic relations or other reasons.
The arrangement with Panama allows the U.S. to deport these nationalities and makes it Panama’s responsibility to organize their repatriation.
The process has been criticized by human rights groups that worry migrants could be mistreated and also fear for their safety if they are ultimately returned to violent or war-torn countries of origin, such as Afghanistan, Reuters reported.
Susana Sabalza, a Panamanian migration lawyer representing one of the families transferred to the San Vicente shelter in the Darien region, said she had not been able to see her clients while they were held at the hotel in Panama City and is seeking permission to visit them at their new location.
She declined to identify their nationality, but said they were a Muslim family who “could be decapitated” if they returned home.
Sabalza said the family would be requesting asylum in Panama or “any country that will receive them other than their own.”
The security ministry statement said 97 migrants had been transferred to the shelter in the Darien region, which includes dense and lawless jungle separating Central America from South America.
In recent years, it has become a corridor for hundreds of thousands of migrants aiming to reach the United States. Eight more migrants would be moved there soon, the statement added.
Early on Wednesday, the hotel in Panama City where the migrants had been held appeared quiet, according to a Reuters witness.
On Tuesday some migrants had been seen holding hands and looking out of a window of the hotel to get the attention of reporters outside.
Migrants in the hotel were not allowed to leave, according to media reports.
A Chinese national, Zheng Lijuan, escaped from the hotel, according to Panama’s migration service, but was later caught in Costa Rica and returned to Panama.
Turkish intelligence agents have captured a senior member of Daesh near the Durand Line, reportedly preventing planned suicide attacks in Turkey and other countries, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency on Monday.
The suspect, identified as Mehmet Goren, is a Turkish citizen. He was apprehended during a covert operation and transferred to Turkey. Details on the timing of the operation or the involvement of Afghan and Pakistani authorities were not disclosed.
According to the report, Goren had risen through the ranks of Daesh and was allegedly tasked with carrying out suicide bombings in Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Europe.
Daesh has a history of deadly attacks in Turkey, including the January 1, 2017 shooting at an Istanbul nightclub that killed 39 people.
Anadolu Agency reported that Goren’s arrest also provided intelligence on the group’s recruitment strategies and planned activities.
Dozens of needy families in Kabul’s fifth district have received essential winter assistance from the Bayat Foundation, as part of ongoing efforts to ease hardship during the cold season and worsening economic conditions.
According to foundation officials, the aid package includes staple food items such as flour, rice, and cooking oil, along with warm blankets to help families cope with freezing temperatures. Haji Mohammad Ismail, Deputy Head of Bayat Foundation, said the distribution began in Kabul and will soon be expanded to other provinces.
“Our assistance includes flour, rice, cooking oil, and blankets,” Ismail said. “Today, we started distributing these items in Kabul’s fifth district, and God willing, the aid will reach other provinces in the near future.”
Afghanistan continues to face widespread poverty, unemployment, and food insecurity, with many families struggling to meet basic needs, particularly during winter when access to work and heating becomes more difficult.Humanitarian organizations and charitable foundations have stepped up relief efforts to support those most affected.
Beneficiaries welcomed the assistance, describing it as a lifeline. “May God bless you for helping the poor. We had nothing and no work,” said one recipient. Another added, “Thank you for your help. Our flour was almost finished.”
Bayat Foundation officials stressed that winter aid distributions will continue in Kabul and other provinces in the coming days, as part of their broader commitment to supporting needy families across the country.
Since the Islamic Emirate came to power, approximately 6.8 million Afghans have returned home, either voluntarily or forcibly, from neighboring countries and other nations, according to the Minister of Refugees and Repatriation.
Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, speaking at a meeting on finalizing a draft plan for a permanent migration solution in Afghanistan, added that 1.3 million Afghans have been internally displaced due to natural disasters during the same period.
With winter approaching, widespread poverty and severe cold are threatening thousands of lives. Meanwhile, the forced expulsion of Afghan migrants from neighboring countries, particularly Iran and Pakistan, continues.
The Islamic Emirate has repeatedly urged neighboring states to allow migrants to return voluntarily. According to UNHCR, over two million Afghans have returned from Iran and Pakistan since the start of 2025.
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