{"id":516928,"date":"2026-07-22T16:50:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T20:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/uncategorized\/more-than-5000-migrants-return-through-panama-after-their-attempt-to-reach-the-united-states-is-thwarted\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T16:50:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T20:50:16","slug":"more-than-5000-migrants-return-through-panama-after-their-attempt-to-reach-the-united-states-is-thwarted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/uncategorized\/more-than-5000-migrants-return-through-panama-after-their-attempt-to-reach-the-united-states-is-thwarted\/","title":{"rendered":"More than 5,000 migrants return through Panama after their attempt to reach the United States is thwarted"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The tightening of United States immigration policies<\/strong> and the closure of alternatives for requesting asylum have caused an unprecedented change in the migration dynamics of the continent.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thousands of people who crossed the Darien Gap with the intention of reaching the north are now<\/strong> traveling the path back. Panama reported that 5,096 irregular migrants have carried out the so-called reverse flow or north-south route during 2026<\/strong>, a phenomenon that reflects the return of those who gave up on continuing their journey or failed to enter U.S. territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reverse flow<\/strong> corresponds to the movement of migrants from Central America towards South America, in the opposite<\/strong> direction to the usual route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Most are people who reached Mexico or remained for months in that country and, following the tightening of U.S. <\/strong>immigration restrictions, decided to voluntarily return to their nations of origin or seek new alternatives in South America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of these migrants initially undertook the journey driven by programs such as CBP One<\/strong>, which allowed for requesting appointments to legally enter the United States, or with the expectation of filing<\/strong> asylum applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>More than 91% of those who traveled the north-south route were Venezuelan citizens, according to the migration report updated as of July 12. (AP Photo\/Mat\u00edas Delacroix)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the tightening of border controls, the elimination of admission mechanisms, and the increase in deportations considerably reduced<\/strong> those possibilities, forcing thousands of people to begin their return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Panama, these migrants enter mainly through Costa Rica<\/strong>, cross the country under the supervision of immigration authorities, and are transported to Puerto Miramar, in Col\u00f3n<\/strong>, from where they embark towards Puerto Obald\u00eda<\/strong>, in the Guna Yala region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there they continue towards Colombian Caribbean communities to return to South America,<\/strong> avoiding crossing the Darien jungle again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report updated as of July 12, 2026<\/strong> shows that 4,665 of the reverse flow migrants are Venezuelan<\/strong>, which represents more than 91% of the total.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are followed by 181 Colombians, 58 Ecuadorians, 53 U.S. citizens\u2014corresponding to<\/strong> children of migrants born in the United States\u2014and 139 people of other nationalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reverse flow reached 22,578 people during 2025, with April being the month of highest movement and a marked predominance of Venezuelan migrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The figures also reflect that January was the month with the most movement<\/strong>, with 1,250 people<\/strong>, followed by February (1,086)<\/strong> and March (916)<\/strong>. Starting in April, a progressive decrease began, with 674 migrants<\/strong>, then 537 in May<\/strong> and 466 in June<\/strong>. As of July 12, 167 people<\/strong> had been counted, which suggests that the phenomenon continues, although at a slower pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weekly behavior has also shown significant variations. Between May 28 and June 3<\/strong>, 193 migrants<\/strong> were recorded, while from June 11 to 17<\/strong>, there were 186<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subsequently, the flow fell to 17 people<\/strong> between June 18 and 24<\/strong>, there were no records in the following week, and it increased again with 48 migrants<\/strong> between July 2 and 8<\/strong> and 119<\/strong> during the week between July 9 and 15<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the close of the report, 39 migrants remained at the Temporary Migratory Reception Station (ETRM) in Dari\u00e9n<\/strong>, while seven were waiting to set sail from Puerto Miramar<\/strong> and 18 remained in Puerto Obald\u00eda<\/strong> before continuing their return to Colombia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tightening of immigration policies implemented by President Donald Trump fueled the increase in the reverse flow, with thousands of migrants now returning to South America after their entry into the United States was thwarted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conversely, the traditional flow through Darien remains very low, with 285 accumulated irregular entries<\/strong> during the year, of which 244 correspond to adults and 41 to minors<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During 2025, Panama recorded 22,578 migrants in reverse flow<\/strong>, a figure more than four times higher than the 5,096 registered up to July 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the total from last year, 20,979 were Venezuelan<\/strong>, equivalent to 93%, followed by 772 Colombians, 189 Ecuadorians, 184 Peruvians, 116 U.S. citizens\u2014mainly children of migrants born in that country\u2014<\/strong> and 338 people of other nationalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

April was the month with the highest number of returns in 2025, with 3,013 people<\/strong>, followed by March, with 2,804, and May, with 2,500. In the opposite direction, the irregular flow northward through the Darien closed that year with 3,088 entries<\/strong>, of which 1,854 were men, 747 were women, and 487 were minors.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expired stay, serving of sentences, and irregular entry were the main causes for the detention of foreigners in Panama. Taken from X<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In parallel to the behavior of the migratory flow, the National Migration Service<\/strong> reported that 618 foreigners were detained between January and June 2026 for violating national legislation<\/strong>, statistics that correspond to administrative and judicial procedures distinct from the reverse flow. 84% were men (517) and 16% were women (101).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main cause for detention was expired stay<\/strong>, with 198 cases<\/strong>, followed by individuals referred<\/strong> after serving sentences (193<\/strong>) and irregular entry into the country<\/strong>, with 181 detentions<\/strong>. There were also 14 cases related to criminal records,<\/strong> seven due to investigations or verification processes, six due to immigration impediments, four linked to human trafficking, and 15 for other reasons.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By nationality, Colombian citizens led the arrests with 309 cases<\/strong>, followed by Nicaraguans (118), Venezuelans (78), Ecuadorians (20),<\/strong> Salvadorans (16), Dominicans (10), Mexicans (9), and Hondurans (8). In addition, 50 people of other nationalities<\/strong> were recorded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding age, the largest group was that of 28 to 37 years old<\/strong>, with 228 people detained<\/strong>, followed by those who were 18 to 27 years old (134)<\/strong> and 38 to 47 years old (132)<\/strong>. The older age groups showed considerably lower figures, according to official statistics from the National Migration Service.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The tightening of United States immigration policies and the closure of alternatives for requesting asylum have caused an unprecedented change in the migration dynamics of the continent. Thousands of people who crossed the Darien Gap with the intention of reaching the north are now traveling the path back. Panama reported that 5,096 irregular migrants have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133556,"featured_media":516929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-516928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phj1q1-2aty","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/RDXLERFFDCS2U5LSQ2KITFX5LM.avif","dum_api":{"author_name":"Yerandi Santana","author_image":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/cropped-WhatsApp-Image-2026-02-13-at-5.35.07-PM-96x96.jpeg","categories_name":["Uncategorized"],"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cdn.deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/RDXLERFFDCS2U5LSQ2KITFX5LM.avif"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/133556"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=516928"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516928\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/516929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=516928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=516928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=516928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}