An eight-year-old Venezuelan girl died and 20 survivors were rescued by Panamanian authorities from a Feb. 21 shipwreck [9] during a journey from Panama's northern port of Llano Carti to the Colombian border. Trump's crackdown on migrants has triggered a "reverse flow" that is leading a growing number of asylum seekers to take a sea route [10] back to South America to avoid crossing the Darién Gap [11]—the perilous jungle trek connecting Panama to Colombia. (TNH [14], CNN [10])
Panama's cooperation with Trump's crackdown is sparking outrage in the country. The government last month accepted almost 300 deportees from the US, who were initially held under armed guard in a Panama City hotel. Images of the group stuck inside the hotel, unable to leave, made local headlines. More than half finally agreed to be returned to their home countries; 97 who refused repatriation were sent to a camp the government has established in Darién province, near the entrance to the Gap. (PBS NewsHour [15], AP [16])
