MEXICO CITY: More than 14,000 mainly Venezuelan migrants who hoped to reach the United States have reversed course and turned south since US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown began, according to a report published Friday by the governments of Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica.
The phenomenon, known as “reverse flow” migration, is largely made up of Venezuelan migrants who fled their country’s long-running economic, social and political crises only to encounter US immigration policy no longer open to asylum-seekers.
Migration through the treacherous Darien Gap on the border of Colombia and Panama peaked in 2023 when more than half a million migrants crossed. That flow slowed somewhat in 2024, but dried up almost completely early this year.
Friday’s report, published with support of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that northward migration had dropped 97 percent this year.
Migrants traveling south interviewed in Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia by those countries’ ombudsmen offices were almost all Venezuelans (97 percent) and about half of them said they planned to return to Venezuela, according to the report. Nearly all said they were returning because they could no longer legally reach the US
Since 2017, around 8 million people have fled the crisis in Venezuela. For years, those migrants flocked to other South American nations, including Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Chile and more.
That changed in 2021, when hundreds of thousands of people set out for the US, braving the Darien Gap along the way.
A US government smartphone app became the main way for asylum-seekers to enter the US under the Biden administration. Then thousands of migrants became stranded in Mexico when Trump ended the use of the app on his first day in office.
Now, those migrants who were still trying to reach the US when Trump entered and changed border policies have reversed course, traveling back to South America. Around a quarter of those interviewed planned to go to neighboring Colombia, previously the epicenter of the mass migration from Venezuela. Others said they didn’t know where they were going.
Colombia and other South American nations spent years pleading for aid from the international community to cope with the brunt of Venezuela’s migratory crisis, before many of those same migrants began moving toward the United States. Today, Venezuela’s political and economic turmoil rages on.
Migrants, most of whom trekked days across the Darien Gap on their way north, are even more vulnerable as they make their way back. They have fewer funds to finance their journey and few prospects for work when they get back. Migrants are dropped into regions with a heavy presence of criminal groups that increasingly prey upon them, the report said.
“Most of these people are already victims of human rights abuses,” Scott Campbell, a UN human rights representative in Colombia, said in a statement. “We urge authorities to aid people in this reverse migration to prevent them from being exploited or falling into trafficking networks run by illegal armed groups.”
The shift marks a radical reversal in one of the biggest mass migrations in the world.
Migrants bus south through Mexico and other Central American nations until they arrive in the center of Panama. From there, migrants pay between $260 and $280 to ride on precarious boats packed with people back to Colombia.
They take two different routes. Most island hop north of Panama through the Caribbean Sea, landing in the small town of Necocli, Colombia, where many started their journeys through the Darien.
Others travel south by sea along a jungled swath of Panama and Colombia through the Pacific Ocean, where they are dropped off in remote towns or the Colombian city of Buenaventura. Colombia’s Ombudsman’s Office estimates around 450 people have taken the perilous route, and the UN documented migrants getting scammed and stranded, facing boat accidents and arriving beaten down and vulnerable from their journey.
The region is one of the most violent in Colombia, and lack of state presence is filled by warring armed groups.
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14,000 US bound migrants have returned south since Trump border changes, UN says
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14,000 US bound migrants have returned south since Trump border changes, UN says
- The phenomenon, known as “reverse flow” migration, is largely made up of Venezuelan migrants who fled their country’s long running economic, social and political crises only to encounter US immigration policy no longer open to asylum seekers
World leaders react cautiously to US and Israeli strikes, death of Iran Ali Khamenei
BRUSSELS: How long will it last? Will it grow? What will the conflict and the reported death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. mean to us — and to global security overall? Those questions echoed across the Middle East and the planet Saturday as world leaders reacted warily to US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
US President Donald Trump said on social media that Khamenei was dead, calling it “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.” Iranian state media said early Sunday the 86-year-old leader had died without elaborating on a cause.
Israeli officials previously told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Khamenei was dead. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a televised address, said there were “growing signs” that Khamenei had been killed when Israel struck his compound early Saturday.
The apparent demise of the second leader of the Islamic Republic, who had no designated successor, would likely throw its future into uncertainty — and exacerbate already growing concerns of a broader conflict. The UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting.
Perhaps cautious about upsetting already strained relations with Trump, many nations abstained from commenting directly or pointedly on the joint strikes but condemned Tehran’s retaliation. Similarly to Europeans, governments across the Middle East condemned Iran’s strikes on Arab neighbors while staying silent on the US and Israeli military action.
Other countries were more explicit: Australia and Canada expressed open support for the US strikes, while Russia and China responded with direct criticism.
The US and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, and Trump called on the Iranian public to “seize control of your destiny” by rising up against the Islamic theocracy that has ruled the nation since 1979. Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones toward Israel and US military bases in the Middle East.
Some leaders urge resumption of talks
In a statement, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on the US and Iran to resume talks and said they favored a negotiated settlement. They said their countries didn’t take part in the strikes on Iran but are in close contact with the US, Israel and partners in the region.
The three countries have led efforts to reach a negotiated solution over Iran’s nuclear program.
“We condemn Iranian attacks on countries in the region in the strongest terms. Iran must refrain from indiscriminate military strikes,” they said. “Ultimately, the Iranian people must be allowed to determine their future,” they said.
Later, at an emergency security meeting, Macron said France was “neither warned nor involved” in the strikes. He called for intensified efforts for a negotiated solution, saying “no one can think that the questions of Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic activity, regional destabilization will be settled by strikes alone.”
The 22-nation Arab League called the Iranian attacks “a blatant violation of the sovereignty of countries that advocate for peace and strive for stability.” That coalition of nations has historically condemned both Israel and Iran for actions it says risk destabilizing the region.
Morocco, Jordan, Syria and the United Arab Emirates denounced Iranian strikes targeting US military bases in the region including in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the Emirates.
Under former President Bashar Assad, Syria was among Iran’s closest regional allies and a staunch critic of Israel, yet a statement from its foreign ministry singularly condemned Iran, reflecting the new government’s efforts to rebuild ties with regional economic heavyweights and the United States.
Saudi Arabia said it “condemns and denounces in the strongest terms the treacherous Iranian aggression and the blatant violation of sovereignty.” Oman, which has been mediating the talks between Iran and the US, said in a statement that the US action “constitutes a violation of the rules of international law and the principle of settling disputes through peaceful means, rather than through hostility and the shedding of blood.”
Careful wording is (mostly) the order of the day
New Zealand refrained from full-throated support but acknowledged Saturday that the US and Israeli attacks were keeping the Iranian regime from remaining an ongoing threat. “The legitimacy of a government rests on the support of its people,” New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a joint statement. “The Iranian regime has long since lost that support.”
Countries in Europe and the Middle East used careful wording, avoiding perceptions that they either support unilateral American action or are directly condemning the United States.
Others were more blunt. Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the strikes “a pre-planned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent UN member state.” The ministry accused Washington and Tel Aviv of “hiding behind” concerns about Iran’s nuclear program while actually pursuing regime change.
Similarly, China’s government said it was “highly concerned” about the US and Israeli strikes on Iran and called for an immediate halt to the military action and a return to negotiations. “Iran’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity should be respected,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said.
Despite recent tensions with the US, Canada too expressed its support for the military action. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is the principal source of instability and terror throughout the Middle East,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said.
And the UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, at the request of Bahrain and France.
Concerns expressed of ‘new, extensive’ war
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank said they were largely unfazed as war erupted Saturday, barely pausing as booms echoed across the sky from Israel’s Iron Dome intercepting missiles overhead.
Unlike Israel, Palestinian cities have no warning sirens or bomb shelters, despite the risk of falling debris or errant missiles. As people sheltered less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) away in Jerusalem, streets in Ramallah swarmed with shoppers browsing meat counters, vegetable stalls and Ramadan sweets, some stopping to record the sounds of distant sirens and missile interceptions.
But as Israel closed checkpoints to the movement of people and goods on Saturday, gas stations saw longer-than-usual lines as residents filled spare canisters in case of supply disruptions.
The Palestinian Authority, in a statement, condemned the Iranian attacks on Arab nations, many which have historically helped underwrite its finances. It made no mention of the Israeli or US strikes.
Nervousness is perceptible across multiple countries. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that he was concerned the failure of negotiations between the US and Iran meant a “new, extensive war in the Middle East.”
The Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons condemned the US and Israeli strikes on Iran in harsher words. “These attacks are totally irresponsible and risk provoking further escalation as well as increasing the danger of nuclear proliferation and the use of nuclear weapons,” said its executive director, Melissa Parke.
EU leaders issued a joint statement Saturday calling for restraint and engaging in regional diplomacy in hopes of “ensuring nuclear safety.” The Arab League, too, appealed to all international parties “to work toward de-escalation as soon as possible, to spare the region the scourge of instability and violence, and to return to dialogue.”
US President Donald Trump said on social media that Khamenei was dead, calling it “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.” Iranian state media said early Sunday the 86-year-old leader had died without elaborating on a cause.
Israeli officials previously told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Khamenei was dead. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a televised address, said there were “growing signs” that Khamenei had been killed when Israel struck his compound early Saturday.
The apparent demise of the second leader of the Islamic Republic, who had no designated successor, would likely throw its future into uncertainty — and exacerbate already growing concerns of a broader conflict. The UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting.
Perhaps cautious about upsetting already strained relations with Trump, many nations abstained from commenting directly or pointedly on the joint strikes but condemned Tehran’s retaliation. Similarly to Europeans, governments across the Middle East condemned Iran’s strikes on Arab neighbors while staying silent on the US and Israeli military action.
Other countries were more explicit: Australia and Canada expressed open support for the US strikes, while Russia and China responded with direct criticism.
The US and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, and Trump called on the Iranian public to “seize control of your destiny” by rising up against the Islamic theocracy that has ruled the nation since 1979. Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones toward Israel and US military bases in the Middle East.
Some leaders urge resumption of talks
In a statement, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on the US and Iran to resume talks and said they favored a negotiated settlement. They said their countries didn’t take part in the strikes on Iran but are in close contact with the US, Israel and partners in the region.
The three countries have led efforts to reach a negotiated solution over Iran’s nuclear program.
“We condemn Iranian attacks on countries in the region in the strongest terms. Iran must refrain from indiscriminate military strikes,” they said. “Ultimately, the Iranian people must be allowed to determine their future,” they said.
Later, at an emergency security meeting, Macron said France was “neither warned nor involved” in the strikes. He called for intensified efforts for a negotiated solution, saying “no one can think that the questions of Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic activity, regional destabilization will be settled by strikes alone.”
The 22-nation Arab League called the Iranian attacks “a blatant violation of the sovereignty of countries that advocate for peace and strive for stability.” That coalition of nations has historically condemned both Israel and Iran for actions it says risk destabilizing the region.
Morocco, Jordan, Syria and the United Arab Emirates denounced Iranian strikes targeting US military bases in the region including in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the Emirates.
Under former President Bashar Assad, Syria was among Iran’s closest regional allies and a staunch critic of Israel, yet a statement from its foreign ministry singularly condemned Iran, reflecting the new government’s efforts to rebuild ties with regional economic heavyweights and the United States.
Saudi Arabia said it “condemns and denounces in the strongest terms the treacherous Iranian aggression and the blatant violation of sovereignty.” Oman, which has been mediating the talks between Iran and the US, said in a statement that the US action “constitutes a violation of the rules of international law and the principle of settling disputes through peaceful means, rather than through hostility and the shedding of blood.”
Careful wording is (mostly) the order of the day
New Zealand refrained from full-throated support but acknowledged Saturday that the US and Israeli attacks were keeping the Iranian regime from remaining an ongoing threat. “The legitimacy of a government rests on the support of its people,” New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a joint statement. “The Iranian regime has long since lost that support.”
Countries in Europe and the Middle East used careful wording, avoiding perceptions that they either support unilateral American action or are directly condemning the United States.
Others were more blunt. Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the strikes “a pre-planned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent UN member state.” The ministry accused Washington and Tel Aviv of “hiding behind” concerns about Iran’s nuclear program while actually pursuing regime change.
Similarly, China’s government said it was “highly concerned” about the US and Israeli strikes on Iran and called for an immediate halt to the military action and a return to negotiations. “Iran’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity should be respected,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said.
Despite recent tensions with the US, Canada too expressed its support for the military action. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is the principal source of instability and terror throughout the Middle East,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said.
And the UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, at the request of Bahrain and France.
Concerns expressed of ‘new, extensive’ war
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank said they were largely unfazed as war erupted Saturday, barely pausing as booms echoed across the sky from Israel’s Iron Dome intercepting missiles overhead.
Unlike Israel, Palestinian cities have no warning sirens or bomb shelters, despite the risk of falling debris or errant missiles. As people sheltered less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) away in Jerusalem, streets in Ramallah swarmed with shoppers browsing meat counters, vegetable stalls and Ramadan sweets, some stopping to record the sounds of distant sirens and missile interceptions.
But as Israel closed checkpoints to the movement of people and goods on Saturday, gas stations saw longer-than-usual lines as residents filled spare canisters in case of supply disruptions.
The Palestinian Authority, in a statement, condemned the Iranian attacks on Arab nations, many which have historically helped underwrite its finances. It made no mention of the Israeli or US strikes.
Nervousness is perceptible across multiple countries. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that he was concerned the failure of negotiations between the US and Iran meant a “new, extensive war in the Middle East.”
The Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons condemned the US and Israeli strikes on Iran in harsher words. “These attacks are totally irresponsible and risk provoking further escalation as well as increasing the danger of nuclear proliferation and the use of nuclear weapons,” said its executive director, Melissa Parke.
EU leaders issued a joint statement Saturday calling for restraint and engaging in regional diplomacy in hopes of “ensuring nuclear safety.” The Arab League, too, appealed to all international parties “to work toward de-escalation as soon as possible, to spare the region the scourge of instability and violence, and to return to dialogue.”
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