U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Visits Panama and Central America this Week

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem arrived in Panama as part of a tour of Central America and is meeting with President José Raúl Mulino.  As part of her agenda, Noem will visit the U.S. Coast Guard hospital ship Escanaba and participate in the deportation of migrants from Albrook Airport. The U.S. official was received on the steps of the Palacio de las Garzas by Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha. Noem’s first destination is Panama, where she held a bilateral meeting with President Mulino, Minister of Public Security Frank Ábrego, and Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is scheduled to travel throughout Central America this week.  Her tentative schedule includes stops in Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala.  On Tuesday, today, Noem is in Panama, where she met with local leaders such as President Mulino, and she wants to observe a repatriation flight.  On Wednesday, she will travel to Costa Rica and Honduras. In Costa Rica, Noem is slated to meet with officials involved in the Customs and Border Protection joint security program. In Honduras, she will visit the Soto Cano Air Base to observe the repatriation program.  On Thursday, Noem will wrap up her trip in Guatemala, where she is expected to hold meetings with government leaders and attend a demonstration of Department of Homeland Security programs at La Aurora International Airport.