What happened
José Raúl Mulino was sworn in as Panama's president on Monday and immediately pledged to halt northward migration through the Darien Gap connecting Panama to Colombia. A record 520,000 migrants took the dangerous jungle route toward the U.S. in 2023 and another 190,000 have already followed this year. Most of the migrants are from Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia and China.
Who said what
"I won't allow Panama to be an open path for thousands of people who enter our country illegally, supported by an international organization related to drug trafficking and human trafficking," Mulino said. "I understand that there are deep-rooted reasons for migration, but each country has to resolve its problems."
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas attended Mulino's inauguration and signed a memorandum of understanding committing the U.S. to "cover" the costs of repatriating migrants caught trying to cross through the Darien.
What next?
This "massive shift" in Panamanian policy, after the previous administration helped migrants quickly move north into Costa Rica, could "potentially reduce the number" that reach the U.S. border, The Associated Press said. "But it could also force migrants to riskier paths and be a boon for smugglers."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Mind-expanding podcasts you may have missed this fallThe Week Recommends True crime, a book club and a therapeutic outlet led this fall's best podcasts
-
‘It’s critical that Congress get involved’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Blackouts: Why the internet keeps breakingfeature Cloudflare was the latest in a string of outages
-
The US-Saudi relationship: too big to fail?Talking Point With the Saudis investing $1 trillion into the US, and Trump granting them ‘major non-Nato ally’ status, for now the two countries need each other
-
What does the fall in net migration mean for the UK?Today’s Big Question With Labour and the Tories trying to ‘claim credit’ for lower figures, the ‘underlying picture is far less clear-cut’
-
Trump’s Ukraine peace talks advance amid leaked callSpeed Read Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is set to visit Russia next week
-
Memo signals Trump review of 233k refugeesSpeed Read The memo also ordered all green card applications for the refugees to be halted
-
Pentagon targets Kelly over ‘illegal orders’ videoSpeed Read The Pentagon threatened to recall Kelly to active duty
-
Judge tosses Trump DOJ cases against Comey, JamesSpeed Read Both cases could potentially be brought again
-
US, Kyiv report progress on shifting Ukraine peace planSpeed Read The deal ‘must fully uphold Ukraine’s sovereignty,’ the countries said
-
US government shutdown: why the Democrats ‘caved’In the Spotlight The recent stalemate in Congress could soon be ‘overshadowed by more enduring public perceptions’
