Panama shelters nearly 300 deportees from US including Indians
In a sensitive situation, Panama has currently sheltered nearly 300 individuals from various countries, including Iran, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China, who were deported from the United States under the orders of President Donald Trump, media reports said.
These migrants are being made to stay in a hotel, where they are receiving medical attention and food as part of a migration agreement between Panama and the US, media reports said.
However, they are not allowed to leave the hotel as international authorities are arranging for their return to their countries of origin.
However, more than 40 percent of these migrants are not willing to return to their homelands voluntarily.
Some have even resorted to displaying desperate messages on their hotel room windows, pleading for "help" and stating "We are not save (sic) in our country".
The US has been using Panama as a transit country to deport illegal migrants owing to difficulties in direct deportation to certain countries.
Costa Rica is also expected to receive a similar flight of third-country deportees on Wednesday.
The Panamanian government has agreed to serve as a "bridge" for deportees, with the US covering all costs of the operation.
The agreement between the US and Panama to shelter the deportees was announced earlier this month, following a visit from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino has faced political pressure over Trump's threats to retake control of the Panama Canal, adding to the complexity of the situation.
The Panamanian Ombudsman's Office is expected to provide further updates on the deportees' situation, shedding more light on the challenges and potential solutions.
Meanwhile, a third batch of Indian illegal migrants arrived in the Indian city of Amritsar on Saturday night.
More than 300 Indians have been deported from the US already in three batches.
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