Panama City, Panama – A Chinese woman who escaped from a Panama City hotel where she was being held for deportation highlights the growing controversy surrounding US immigration policies and their impact on Panama. Zheng Lijuan was among 299 migrants from countries including China, Afghanistan, and Iran, with whom the US lacks extradition treaties, who were recently flown to Panama in shackles. These deportations are part of an intensified campaign under the Trump administration.
Panamanian authorities suspect Zheng received assistance from locals who had been seen near the Decapolis hotel, where the deportees were being held. Her escape coincides with the transfer of 170 other migrants to the Darién region bordering Colombia, according to a lawyer representing migrant families.
Following Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino's election last July, Panama and the US struck a deal to curb migrant flow through the perilous Darién Gap. This agreement has led to increased border patrols, barbed wire fences, and deportations, primarily of Ecuadoran and Colombian citizens, from a runway near Metetí. Amidst Trump's threats to reclaim the Panama Canal, the Panamanian government has agreed to accept these migrants, whom the US cannot easily deport directly.
President Mulino has announced plans to expand the Metetí runway to accommodate larger aircraft, potentially for transatlantic flights. While the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has been involved in the plan, they have not yet commented. A key challenge remains the lack of deportation agreements with the migrants' home countries, raising the possibility of indefinite detention in a planned San Vicente facility, described by one source as resembling a "concentration camp."
Many of these migrants fear persecution or death if returned to their countries of origin. Artemis Ghasemzadeh, a 27-year-old Iranian English teacher, told the New York Times that as a Christian convert, she faces possible execution in Iran. "Only a miracle can save us," she stated.
Reporters witnessed the migrants' plight firsthand at the Decapolis hotel, with some gesturing for help. The incident underscores the difficult position Panama finds itself in, caught between US pressure and humanitarian concerns. Panamanian politicians are aware of the nation's role in Trump's aggressive deportation strategy, particularly following his threats regarding the Panama Canal.
The pressure from the US extends beyond Panama. Neighboring Costa Rica recently agreed to accept 200 migrants from Central Asian countries and India, citing potential trade tariffs as the motivating factor. President Rodrigo Chaves explained, "We're helping our powerful economic brother in the north, because if the US imposes a tax on our export zones, we're screwed.” This highlights the regional impact of US immigration policy and the lengths to which countries are willing to go to appease the US.
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