Panama. The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, began a new diplomatic offensive in Panama yesterday to control irregular migration in Latin America, a headache for the region.
The two-day trip, the US diplomat’s first to Latin America this year, comes weeks before the administration of President Joe Biden ends pandemic restrictions that allowed migrants to be quickly expelled to Mexico.
This Wednesday Blinken and the Secretary of Homeland Security of the United States, Alejandro Mayorkas, will meet with counterparts from more than 20 countries in the Americas to discuss cooperation on migration. This is a prelude to the next Summit of the Americas to be held in Los Angeles in June, where this issue will be addressed.
During a meeting with the president of Panama, Laurentino Cortizo, Antony Blinken highlighted the “importance of regional cooperation” to guarantee a “safe, orderly and humane” migration, according to State Department spokesman Ned Price. The Panama negotiations, preceded by a similar regional meeting in Colombia in October last year, aim to boost support for nations receiving refugees, including through multinational institutions.