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.

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“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.

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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.

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“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.

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“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.

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Central America

Guatemala Dismantles Largest Cocaine Lab Found in 15 Years Near Mexico Border

Security forces in Guatemala discovered what authorities described as the largest cocaine laboratory dismantled in the country in the last 15 years, located in the southwest near the border with Mexico, officials announced on Wednesday.

Guatemalan Defense Minister Henry Sáenz said during a press conference that the operation was carried out as part of “Operation Ring of Fire,” a large-scale security initiative launched by the Guatemalan government and military to reinforce border controls and combat organized crime, particularly along the Mexican border.

The operation focused on the community of Zanjón San Lorenzo, in the municipality of Ayutla, San Marcos department, where authorities uncovered a sophisticated criminal compound made up of three interconnected buildings equipped to carry out the full cocaine production process.

“What we can preliminarily observe in these facilities is the complete production cycle used to produce cocaine ready for consumption,” Sáenz stated, adding that the investigation remains ongoing and additional findings could emerge.

The minister highlighted the scale and complexity of the laboratory, comparing it to previous major drug seizures in the country.

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“The last major laboratory we found was in El Estor, Izabal, in 2019, and that facility only processed coca paste,” he explained.

Authorities arrested eight individuals during the raid and seized a cache of weapons that included 14 military-style assault rifles, three 9mm pistols, and 1,306 rounds of ammunition.

Security forces also confiscated cash totaling 74,461 quetzales (approximately $9,600), $26,787 in U.S. currency, and 118,000 Mexican pesos.

Central America

Opposition leader highlights migration crisis in Panama speech

Opposition leader María Corina Machado recalled on Monday, during her final day in Panama, the thousands of Venezuelan migrants who crossed the dangerous Darién Gap jungle on their journey toward North America in search of better living conditions.

Speaking before Panama’s National Assembly, Machado stated that “more than 500,000 Venezuelans have crossed the Darién in search of freedom,” adding that many did not survive the journey.

Her remarks highlighted the Darién Gap as a central route in the recent regional migration crisis, where thousands of migrants—mostly Venezuelans—have attempted to travel north through one of the most dangerous jungle passages in the Americas.

According to migration data cited in recent years, the Darién route has seen daily flows of over a thousand migrants at its peak, reflecting the scale of the humanitarian challenge in the region.

Central America

Nicaragua’s Alliances With U.S. Rivals Could Trigger More Sanctions, Analysis Says

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to maintain political and economic pressure on the government of Nicaragua, led by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, due to its growing alliances with Russia, China and Iran, according to an analysis released Monday by the Centro de Estudios Transdisciplinarios de Centroamérica (Cetcam).

The report states that tensions between Washington and Managua have increased since the beginning of Trump’s second term and could worsen amid the regional political climate, particularly because of developments in Venezuela and Cuba.

Cetcam researchers noted that since the second half of 2025, the U.S. government has intensified criticism of the Sandinista administration, mainly regarding political prisoners, human rights, religious freedom and what it describes as the authoritarian model established by Ortega and Murillo.

“With this background, it is possible to foresee that Washington will maintain pressure, including sanctions, against the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship,” the think tank stated in its report.

The study also warns that one of Washington’s main concerns is the strengthening relationship between Managua and countries considered strategic rivals of the United States, particularly Russia, China and Iran.

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Among the developments highlighted is the recent ratification by the Russian Senate of a military cooperation agreement signed with Nicaragua in 2025. The deal is expected to strengthen strategic coordination and Russia’s presence in Central America for an initial five-year period.

According to Cetcam, the move will “hardly go unnoticed” by the United States.