Panama Foreign Minister Erika Mouynes told Axios she is “frustrated” Biden’s administration feigned surprise when the tens of thousands of Haitians ended up at the border.
Last week, Del Rio, TX, saw over 12,000 migrants, mostly Haitians, under a bridge at the border.
The migration caused waves, but Biden’s administration tried to deflect by pouncing on a photo that makes it look like a border patrol agent whipped a migrant. It was false, but the left and liberal media used the image to alleviate the heat on Biden and his cronies.
Mouynes said the country has warned many leaders since the beginning of 2021 about the Haitian wave: “We’ve engaged with every single authority that we can think of, that we can come across, to say, ‘Please, let’s pay attention to this.'”
Panama believes it will see 27,000 Haitian migrants this month through the dangerous Darién Gap, which is more than it saw in all of 2019.
This video came out six months ago, but it explains the dangers migrants face in the jungle.
Over 85,000 Haitian migrants have made their way through Panama since January. Data shows 20,000 to 25,000 already made it to the border. The Biden administration allowed a lot of them to stay. Mouynes believes another 60,000 will start the journey soon.
Mouynes could not believe the U.S., Mexico, and Canada finally met in August “to discuss the issue of irregular migration.
Central America and South America officials have worked together for a while to handle migration:
- In task force meetings that month, Latin American officials developed a plan to prevent charter planes from landing in countries with migrants and to impose quotas at borders to maintain manageable numbers of migrants in transit countries.
- “If you can control migration, you can support it,” Mouynes said.
Panama has a quota system with Costa Rica and has started one with Colombia. It “needs to turn back toward their other neighbors — to Peru, to Brazil” — to set up similar systems.
- Colombia is currently holding back 30,000 migrants who want to cross into Panama and has become “frustrated” Panama can not take more in, the minister said.
What they’re saying: “We all have a role to play in this issue, and the regional approach is the correct approach,” Mouynes said. “It is impossible for Panama to solve it on its own.”
Mouynes met with DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Congresspeople in Washington this week to help devise a plan since the migrants will head to the U.S.-Mexico border.
The foreign minister demanded that Mayorkas or someone near his rank “attend a follow-up meeting with cabinet-level leaders from the region.” She wants the U.S. “to show commitment.” This will also help the U.S. and other “nations to follow through on migration plans.”
Axios reported that the Haitian migrants usually receive medical care and food when they reach Panama, even though they traveled through Colombia and Peru.
Mouynes said: “When we receive them on the Panamanian side, they’re malnourished. The children are in terrible condition, so even getting them up to a healthy state takes time.”
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