Panama launches US-backed deportation flights aimed at discouraging migrants

Members of the National Border Service (SENAFRONT) keep watch as Colombian migrants, who were detained after crossing into Panama irregularly through the dangerous Darien Gap, wait to depart after boarding the first U.S. funded repatriation flight, at Tocumen International Airport, in Panama City, Panama August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Aris Martinez

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - The first flight of deported migrants left Panama early on Tuesday, part of a new strategy to reduce the mostly U.S.-bound flow of people that crosses the treacherous jungle connecting Central and South America.

Financed by Washington, the flights come less than three months before November's U.S. presidential election. They mark a new means of addressing migration, which has emerged as a top issue in the contest between former Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.