Panama Assistance Offered to Southern Bound Migrants is less than when they were North Bound

According to the Director of Immigration Roger Mojica Rivera pictured below, migrants coming from the north are being provided with some form of logistics, but it’s not like when they were heading north.

The director of Immigration, Roger Mojica Rivera, said they offer some type of logistics to migrants who cross the territory, returning to their countries, after being unable to enter the United States.  However, the official acknowledged that the aid is less than what these people received when they entered Panama on their way to North America.  News agencies developed a report in which it interviewed several migrants who find it difficult to travel to Colombia due to the high cost of the boat trip.  Most of the migrants who have returned to the country are Venezuelans, trying to reach their homeland, and many are seen in the capital, on public transportation, asking for financial assistance to continue their journey.  

Others work in the informal sector, selling food products, hoping to raise enough money to return to their homeland. Mojica Rivera reported that 13,300 migrants have returned from the north and that the flow is largely under control.   He also said he has coordinated with Costa Rica to ensure effective control, although he admitted that this counterpart has encountered logistical problems with receiving these individuals that they must resolve.   Migrants are generally avoiding the dangerous Darien Gap and reaching the coastal town of Miramar, in Colón.   “From there, they take boats that take them to Puerto Obaldía, and then, using their own means, they reach La Miel and cross the border.  On the Darien side, only 10 migrants from the south of the continent arrived in June, and their cases have already been processed, the director of Immigration said.