Central America
Blinken calls for global cooperation on migration in Panama trip
AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday sought greater cooperation in Latin America on migration, taking on a cause of growing political headaches that has only been exacerbated by the crisis in Ukraine.
The top US diplomat was paying a two-day trip to Panama, his first to Latin America this year, weeks before President Joe Biden’s administration ends pandemic restrictions that allowed swift expulsions to Mexico.
Opening talks with a generous dinner at the foreign ministry, Blinken and US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas met with counterparts from more than 20 countries in the Western Hemisphere.
“This issue is a priority for the United States,” Blinken said, calling for a “safe, orderly and humane” way of migration.
“We care about the well-being of millions of people across the hemisphere who have made the desperate decision to leave their homes and communities in search of a better life,” he said.
“All of us bring our concerns to this discussion but also the shared sense of responsibility to meet the migration challenges throughout our region.”
Nearly 100 million people have fled their homes worldwide — a figure that Blinken noted is the highest since World War II.
The global crisis has been worsened by the startlingly fast displacement of millions of Ukrainians since Russia invaded in February.
In the United States, authorities apprehended more than 221,000 people on the Mexican border in March, the highest for a single month in more than two decades — an issue sure to be high on the agenda of Biden’s Republican rivals in upcoming congressional elections.
The spike comes as people from El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti and Honduras flee dire poverty, rampant violence and natural disasters aggravated by climate change.
– Refocusing on region –
But the United States is far from the only nation in the hemisphere experiencing migration strains. Venezuela’s economic and political crisis has triggered an exodus of more than six million people, with neighboring Colombia taking the most.
Blinken signed with Panama an agreement to work together on migration, the second such pact after one last month with Costa Rica.
Panamanian Foreign Minister Erika Mouynes said that the trading nation — home to the dangerous Durian Gap that connects North and South America — saw a record of more than 130,000 migrants last year.
She doubted that migration would ease, pointing to the effects of climate change and the invasion of Ukraine.
“The difficult and harsh reality — our reality — puts us all in a scenario that demands collaboration,” she said.
“Coordinating our efforts is no longer optional. It’s a necessity.”
Brian Nichols, the top US diplomat for Latin America, said the Panama talks would seek to boost support to nations that welcome refugees, including through multinational institutions.
The Panama trip will also help lay the groundwork for a summit of Latin American leaders that Biden will lead in Los Angeles in June.
With Latin America rarely seen as a global security hotspot, the international community spends more than 10 times on each refugee from Syria compared with each Venezuelan migrant, according to a Brookings Institution study.
“There’s going to be less and less appetite from the international community to support migrants in the Western Hemisphere while we have a major migration crisis being provoked by Russia,” said Jason Marczak, an expert on Latin America at the Atlantic Council.
“We need to avoid that becoming an afterthought for the global community, so it’s really important to have Secretary Blinken along with Secretary Mayorkas there in Panama.”
Ukrainian refugees have received a warmer welcome in much of the West than did mostly Muslim migrants from Syria and Afghanistan.
Biden has promised to welcome 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, drawing few protests from former president Donald Trump’s Republican Party, which has generally made opposition to immigration a core issue.
Central America
Dengue crisis in Panama: co-circulating serotypes fuel rise in fatal cases
Health authorities in Panama reported on Wednesday that the country has recorded a total of 6,458 dengue cases and 10 related deaths through epidemiological week 25, which spanned from June 15 to 21, 2025.
Of the total reported cases, 576 patients required hospitalization, and 55 cases have been classified as severe, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Health (Minsa).
The metropolitan area and San Miguelito, both in the capital, account for the majority of cases, with 2,753 infections. The reported deaths occurred in the western provinces of Chiriquí (4) and Bocas del Toro (2); the eastern province of Darién (2); and Panamá Este and Coclé, with one death each.
“The national dengue incidence rate during epidemiological week 25 of 2025 is 125.8 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Most cases have occurred in individuals aged 10 to 59 years,” the official report stated.
Panama is currently experiencing co-circulation of all four dengue serotypes, with DENV-3 and DENV-4 being the most prevalent. This, according to Minsa, “increases the likelihood of severe and fatal cases.”
The Ministry emphasized that dengue is a serious and potentially deadly disease transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, and noted that it has ramped up nationwide operations through vector control teams to reduce infection rates.
However, officials stressed that citizen participation remains critical, urging the public to eliminate mosquito breeding sites both inside and around their homes.
Central America
Costa Rica extends humanitarian status and grants work permits to stranded migrants
The Costa Rican government announced on Tuesday the extension of a humanitarian migration category and the granting of work permits to a group of migrants from various nationalities who were stranded in the country after being deported from the United States last February.
“A new extension of this humanitarian category has been published, allowing these individuals to maintain regular status in Costa Rica for six months. One of the new features is that they now have the right to work, which will help facilitate their integration into the country,” said Migration Director Omer Badilla.
In February, Costa Rica received two flights carrying 200 deported migrants from the United States, including 81 minors. They came from Nepal, China, Russia, India, Congo, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ghana, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. The Costa Rican government said at the time that this was part of an agreement with the Trump administration for Costa Rica to serve as a transit point for migrants returning to their countries or a third country.
The migrants were taken to the Temporary Migrant Care Center (CATEM) in southern Costa Rica near the Panama border. Nearly half returned voluntarily to their countries, others sought asylum in Costa Rica, some left the center, and others remain voluntarily.
Currently, 25 migrants remain at CATEM voluntarily. According to authorities, the humanitarian migration status allows them free mobility and now the possibility to seek employment.
The acceptance of these 200 migrants sparked controversy in Costa Rica, with several NGOs denouncing that authorities violated human rights by not allowing the migrants to move outside CATEM for two months until the humanitarian migration status was first established in April.
Central America
Illegal crossings at U.S.-Mexico border plunge 92% in historic shift
In an unprecedented shift, the number of illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border dropped by 92% in June compared to the same month last year, according to data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Only 6,070 people were intercepted along the southwest border—marking the lowest figure in a quarter century. This sharp decline signals a new chapter in the region’s migration history.
The “crackdown on irregular migration” in the United States—as described by International Organization for Migration (IOM) Director Amy Pope—has triggered a domino effect across several Latin American countries. However, Pope does not consider this to be an isolated case. “What we are seeing in the U.S. is similar to what’s happening globally when there is a demand for migrants,” she told DW, warning of the labor and social consequences this situation is generating.
Regional Trends Reflect the Shift
Panama and Honduras are two clear examples of the regional impact. In the Darién Gap—a historic migration route to the north—migration fell by 99.7% in April 2025 compared to April 2024, according to Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino. Authorities even shut down the main migrant station in the area.
Honduras also recorded a drastic drop in northbound migration. According to an IOM report, only 14,270 people set out between January and March 2025, compared to 133,518 during the same period in 2024.
At the same time, so-called “reverse migration” is increasing: individuals, discouraged or without resources, are choosing to return to their countries of origin. In Colombia, more than 9,000 migrants have crossed back through the Darién Gap so far this year, according to the country’s Office of the Ombudsman.
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