First change: 04/20/2022 – 19:08 Last change: 04/20/2022 – 19:06
PANAMA CITY (AFP) – The United States is seeking a “firm” deal on migration with Latin American countries ahead of the next Americas Summit in Los Angeles in June, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.
The head of US diplomacy is in Panama for a meeting with ministers from twenty Latin American countries to seek agreements to resolve the problem of irregular migration in the region.
The record number of people around the world, in many cases caused by armed conflict, economic crises, climate change and poverty, is causing humanitarian crises that are of growing concern to US President Joe Biden.
Blinken reiterated that the Panama talks are aimed at “laying the groundwork for a firm statement from our leaders” for the Americas Summit, scheduled to take place June 6-10 in Los Angeles.
The declaration on protecting migrants should set out “our shared principles for a cooperative and coordinated response,” Blinken said.
“We can transform the lives of our most vulnerable fellow citizens and the future of our region,” he added.
Biden convened the Americas Summit with the goal of promoting democracy and isolating authoritarian governments in the region.
US authorities arrested more than 221,000 people at the border with Mexico in March, the highest number in a single month in more than two decades.
Citizens of El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti and Honduras are fleeing extreme poverty, violence and natural disasters made worse by climate change.
In addition, the inhospitable Darién Jungle on the Panama-Colombia border is also a corridor for irregular migration.
In 2021, more than 133,000 people passed through this jungle of Panama on their way from South America to the United States, and in 2022 13,000 migrants have already passed through it, more than double the same period last year.
While almost 100 million people have fled their homes worldwide as part of the migration crisis. Attention is also turning to Ukraine, where 4.9 million people have fled since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
During the Panama meeting, Blinken called for tackling the root causes of irregular migration and supporting countries like Colombia, Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica that are helping migrants.
“No country alone can solve such a complicated challenge as migration,” he added.
For her part, Panamanian Foreign Minister Erika Mouynes took the view that the migratory phenomenon will increase due to the effects of climate change and the invasion of Ukraine.
© 2022 AFP