Panamanian authorities will today repatriate to Colombia a group of irregular migrants who transited through the Darien jungle on their way to the United States.

These charter flights are part of an agreement signed on 1 July between the government of the Isthmian country and Washington, which undertook to pay for these air operations.

The first flight will depart early this morning from Marcos A. Gelabert Airport, located near the Panama Canal.

In a recent report, the National Migration Service (SNM) indicated that from July to date the flow of illegal travellers through the jungle has been reduced.

According to this source, in the first two weeks of August, 5,388 people passed through the dangerous jungle on the border with Colombia, compared to 11,363 in July.

According to the SNM, since the government of José Raúl Mulino took office on 1 July, the flows have been reduced by 52 percent in 30 days.

It also specified that the most common nationalities are Venezuelans, Colombians, Ecuadorians and Haitians, in that order.

If this downward trend in migration continues, sources from the Ministry of Security told the press that by the end of 2024, a reduction in transit of at least 100,000 people could be consolidated.

Despite life-threatening natural dangers and harassment by criminal groups, more than 520,000 illegal travellers crossed the jungle last year, 20 percent of them children.