Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino announced this Thursday the first direct flight from Panama City to Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, carrying 70 Venezuelan migrants enrolled in Panama's voluntary return program. The head of state once again highlighted the drastic drop in the flow of irregular migrants arriving in Panama en route to North America, especially the United States, which has become a humanitarian crisis that has cost the Panamanian state millions of dollars, according to the country's authorities. In 2025, 3,054 irregular travelers arrived in Panama, a number similar to the levels of 2012 and 2013, when 3,430 and 3,140 arrived, respectively, according to a graph shown during Mulino's weekly press conference. The number of irregular migrants recorded this year is far below the 302,203 travelers who arrived in Panama heading to the U.S. in 2024, the 520,085 of 2023—the most critical year of the crisis—the 248,283 of 2022, and the 133,726 of 2021, according to the same official graph. The drastic drop in migration flows to North America is attributed to the immigration policy of the U.S. President Donald Trump's government, based on mass deportations and strong internal restrictions for this population, to which Panamanian measures such as the closure of paths in the Darién jungle, the natural border between Panama and Colombia, are added. "This is the first flight to Caracas, 70 Venezuelan migrants are returning voluntarily to their country, Venezuela. As I said, a direct flight to Caracas, we no longer have to go through Colombia and all the hassle that entails," declared the head of state. Mulino gave no further details, so it is currently unknown which airline will carry out the transfer to Caracas, which is served by Simón Bolívar International Airport, where several international airlines have temporarily suspended flights due to operational risks associated with the unprecedented U.S. anti-drug military operation. "This Monday, flight number 60 of our voluntary return program will take place."
