President Mulino allows the United States to use Metetí airport in the Darién for Migrant Deportation

The president of Panama expressed concern about the increase in the irregular flow of illegal immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Iran, and stressed that this situation requires joint attention.  President Mulino has allowed the United States to use the Metetí airport, in the Darién, for its migrant deportation plan.  Mulino also invited the US to participate in the next investment projects that the country will be working towards.  As for foreign investments, Mulino called on American businessmen to consider investing more in Panama, arguing that the absence of ambassadors in recent years had affected the flow of investments in the country.  The president stressed that the meeting with the Secretary of State Marco Rubió was respectful and productive, and assured that there were no signs of controversy. “I didn’t feel any climate of disrespect. It was a very proactive environment, willing to solve any doubts. We want to work with the United States in good faith,” Mulino concluded. 

However at the end of the meeting, Secretary of State Rubió posted a comment on social network X in which he said that the Chinese Communist Party’s control over the Panama Canal area represents a threat to the operation of the canal and a violation of the Treaty on Permanent Neutrality and the Panama Canal Operation.  He made it clear that this “status quo” is unacceptable to the United States, and that, if there were no immediate changes, the country would take the necessary measures to protect its rights under the Treaty. 

The president of Panama expressed his willingness for a future meeting with US President Donald Trump to discuss these and other issues. “I hope we can have a face-to-face meeting with President Trump,” Mulino said after their phone call that was to happen recently was postponed.  It was a busy day for Trump who was welcoming his counterpart from Japan on that same day, and that was after a few rounds of golf with Tiger Woods and his son.