Panamanian immigration authorities deported and expelled 21 Nicaraguan citizens on Tuesday for violating the country’s migration laws. The group was returned to Nicaragua on a chartered flight from Albrook’s Marcos A. Gelabert Airport as part of a bilateral agreement with the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The National Migration Service of Panama (SNM) confirmed the operation occurred on January 27. Officials stated the actions followed individual case reviews which found clear breaches of Panamanian immigration statutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Authorities executed 13 formal deportations and eight expulsions. Four individuals, three women and one man, were included in the removal process after receiving sentence reductions under established legal procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The agency’s review found some of the foreigners had criminal records. These records included convictions for international drug trafficking, aggravated possession and sale of illicit substances, aggravated theft, economic damage, human trafficking, and irregular re-entry into Panama by evading official migration checkpoints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n“These measures were adopted after the individual analysis of each file, upon verification of infractions of migration legislation,” the National Migration Service (Panama) stated. [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Of the 21 people returned, 11 were women and 10 were men. Their removal was carried out on charter flight number 63. The flight departed for the Republic of Nicaragua.<\/p>