The Indian Embassy in Panama its post said that India is closely working with authorities in Panama to ensure the well-being of Indian deportees from the US.
The Indian Embassy in Panama said that migrants who reached Panama from the US are “safe and secure”, adding that the embassy team has obtained consular access to Indians. The development comes a day after a report claimed that nearly 100 migrants deported by the United States to Panama were loaded onto buses on Tuesday night and moved to a detention camp on the outskirts of the jungle. The report also added that migrants had been locked in a hotel in Panama.
The embassy ensured that India is working closely with authorities in Panama to ensure the well-being of Indians who arrived from the US in Panama, the Latin American country.
In a post on X, the Indian Embassy in Panama said, “Panamanian authorities have informed us that a group of Indians have reached Panama from the US. They are safe and secure at a hotel with all essential facilities. The embassy team has obtained consular access. We are working closely with the host government to ensure their well-being.”
Moreover, Panama’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Carlos Ruiz-Hernandez, said that 97 people had been moved to the camp. Hernandez said, “They are not detainees.” He said, “It’s a migrant camp where they will be taken care of—not a detention camp.”
He underscored that the camp was the best option available to the Panama government to keep migrants. He added that migrants were provided food, water, and access to medical and psychological care. He also added that no cages have been put there for migrants, ANI quotes the New York Times as reporting.
The migrants have been moved to Panama in a weeklong saga for a group of 300 migrants who arrived in the US hoping to seek asylum. The group was sent to Panama, which has agreed to help US President Donald Trump in his plan to deport migrants who have no legal documents, The New York Times reported.
Under President Donald Trump, the US authorities have launched a crackdown against what they call illegal immigration as they start deporting migrants to their home countries. On February 16, the aircraft carrying the third batch of Indian nationals who allegedly illegally migrated to the US landed at the Amritsar Airport.
(With inputs from ANI)
