Migrants fleeing from various countries are currently stranded in Lajas Blancas and San Vicente, Panama, facing dire circumstances after being deported or deterred by stringent U.S. immigration policies under President Trump. Many, like Yohana from Venezuela, recount harrowing experiences as they attempt to seek asylum, often retracing dangerous routes through jungles after failed attempts to immigrate. The detention centers are overcrowded, with the situation described as a 'reversed flow' of migrants who are unable to progress north, instead finding themselves stuck in perilous conditions.
"We were making a huge effort to leave and look at us now — back in the same jungle, with no way out," lamented Yohana at the Lajas Blancas detention center.
"Lajas Blancas receives those who don't want to return to their homes in the south: 2,925 people in the last four months, 75% of which arrived in February," according to official statistics.
The town once operated as a checkpoint for people arriving from Colombia without proper documentation, but now it serves as a detention center for deported migrants.
The current situation marks a 'reversed flow' of migrants who, rather than moving north, find themselves trapped in the jungles of Darien due to tightened immigration restrictions.
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