Panama’s President Denies Requesting US Troops for Darién Migration Crisis
John Robert Bolton is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United States national security advisor from 2018 to 2019. Born: November 20, 1948 (age 76 years), Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Previous offices: National Security Advisor of the United States (2018–2019)
Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino denied that he requested U.S. military support to curb the migration crisis in the remote Darién jungle before Donald Trump returned to the White House, as claimed by a former advisor to the U.S. president. John Bolton (pictured above), a former advisor during Trump’s first administration (2017–2021), told Spanish newspaper El País on Thursday that Mulino “had requested U.S. troops to be deployed in the Darién Gap, on the border between Colombia and Panama, through which hundreds of people passed daily aiming to reach the United States.”
Mulino responded in a statement on Saturday that Panama’s response to the migration surge “in the Darién was carried out by Panamanian forces, primarily funded by the country’s own resources and supported by international organizations.” “Mr. Bolton, with his conspiracies, disrespects the Panamanian people in general, and particularly the security forces who spent countless days confronting adversity with courage and determination,” he added. The Central American president acknowledged that after taking office, he signed an agreement in 2024 with Joe Biden, Trump’s predecessor, but said the pact “never involved a request for military assistance.” Previously, Mulino had refuted Bolton’s claims on the social media platform X, calling them “false and reckless.”
“That border was closed thanks to the comprehensive effort and determination of Panama, without ever requiring such a thing. Today, the Darién no longer has that problem, and I have presented clear evidence of this to the U.S. and the world,” he emphasized. Over the past three years, more than a million migrants—mostly Venezuelans—have crossed the jungle heading toward the United States, facing dangers such as wild animals, fast-flowing rivers, and criminal groups. Check out the Darien below:
