Panama City, Panama - June 30, 2024

[Note: video contains Spanish language]

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino was sworn in on Monday, reaffirming that "Panama will no longer be a transit country" for migrants, whom he described as "illegal", and assured that he will appeal "to international solidarity regarding the cause that generates the problem", seeking "solutions with the countries involved, above all with the United States, which is the final destination". "The visit last Friday allowed us to see the magnitude of the problem and the dimension of the humanitarian and environmental crisis that is affecting the territory. I will not allow Panama to be an open road for thousands of people who enter our country illegally, supported by a whole international organisation linked to drug trafficking and human trafficking. This money, the product of profiting from human misfortune, is cursed money", he declared during a speech at the ceremony. Mulino acknowledged that "there are profound reasons for migration", but considered that "each country must solve its own problems". "Panamanians did not vote for me to look the other way in the face of such aberrations, nor to accept as good something that is wrong. We cannot continue to finance the economic and social cost that massive illegal immigration generates for the country", he said. On the other hand, he indicated that the Darien "must continue to be a great green lung" both for Panama and for the region, and to this end it must be "defended and cared for". "Its biodiversity cannot be put at risk by illegal activities", he added, after calling on the security forces to comply with human rights. During the day, the United States and Panama signed "a Memorandum of Understanding designed to jointly reduce the number of migrants who are cruelly smuggled" through the Darien Gap, "generally en route to the United States", according to the White House National Security Council spokesperson, Adrienne Watson, in a statement. "Specifically, the United States will support Panama's efforts to initiate the swift, safe, and humane repatriation of migrants who have no legal basis to remain in Panama. By returning these individuals to their country of origin, we will help deter irregular migration in the region and at our southern border, and help stop the enrichment of evil smuggling networks that prey on vulnerable migrants," she added.

SHOTLIST:
1. Various from the inauguration.