Rubio views a deportation flight in Panama as Trump prioritizes an immigration crackdown

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, Frank Alexis Abrego, Panama’s Minister of Public Security, center, and Panama’s Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha, watch as people board a repatriation flight bound for Colombia at Albrook Airport in Panama City, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

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People arrive to board a repatriation flight bound for Colombia at Albrook Airport in Panama City, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

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People arrive to board a repatriation flight bound for Colombia at Albrook Airport in Panama City, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with Frank Alexis Abrego, Panama’s Minister of Public Security, right, arrives to watch people board a repatriation flight bound for Colombia at Albrook Airport in Panama City, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with Frank Alexis Abrego, Panama’s Minister of Public Security, right, arrive to watch people board a repatriation flight bound for Colombia at Albrook Airport in Panama City, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

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People arrive to board a repatriation flight bound for Colombia at Albrook Airport in Panama City, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

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People board a repatriation flight bound for Colombia at Albrook Airport in Panama City, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

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Security officers stand on the tarmac before Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives to watch people board a repatriation flight bound for Colombia at Albrook Airport in Panama City, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

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People line up to board a repatriation flight bound for Colombia at Albrook Airport in Panama City, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

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People arrive to board a repatriation flight bound for Colombia at Albrook Airport in Panama City, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

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People arrive to board a repatriation flight bound for Colombia at Albrook Airport in Panama City, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, walks with Panama’s Minister of Public Security Frank Alexis Abrego, after watching people board a repatriation flight bound for Colombia at Albrook Airport in Panama City, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to reporters after watching people board a repatriation flight bound for Colombia at Albrook Airport in Panama City, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio boards a plane at Panama Pacifico International Airport in Panama City, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, en route to El Salvador. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

By MATTHEW LEE and JUAN ZAMORANO

PANAMA CITY (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio viewed a deportation flight carrying 43 migrants before it took off from Panama on Monday as President Donald Trump’s administration prioritizes stopping people from making the journey to the United States.

On his second and final day in Panama City on a five-nation trip to Central America, Rubio turned his focus from the Panama Canal and Chinese influence to the issue the Republican president has championed most: immigration.

The flight was carrying 32 men and 11 women back to Colombia after they had crossed the Darien Gap and were stopped in Panama. Some of the migrants filed into the plane before Rubio arrived. He viewed the plane and then left the tarmac to give comments in a nearby building. It’s unusual for a secretary of state to personally witness such a law enforcement operation, especially in front of cameras.

The State Department said that such deportations send a strong message of deterrence and that the U.S. has provided Panama with financial assistance to the tune of almost $2.7 million in flights and tickets.

“Mass migration is one of the great tragedies in the modern era,” Rubio said. “It impacts countries throughout the world. We recognize that many of the people who seek mass migration are often victims and victimized along the way, and it’s not good for anyone.”

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Monday’s flight came as Trump has been threatening action against nations that will not accept deportation flights of their nationals from the United States, and he briefly hit Colombia with penalties last week for initially refusing to accept two flights. Panama has been more cooperative and has allowed flights of third-country deportees to land and sent migrants back before they reach the United States.

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino reaffirmed that position and agreed Sunday to withdraw from China’s Belt and Road development and infrastructure initiative after Rubio warned him to reduce China’s role in canal operations or face American retaliation.

Panamanian immigration officials say they have carried out 44 deportation flights carrying nearly 2,000 migrants since signing an agreement with the U.S. for financial support when Mulino entered office last July. The majority of those flown home have been Colombians, followed by Ecuadorians.

Panama said last month that the number of migrants crossing the Darien Gap from Colombia had decreased more than 90% in January compared with the same month a year earlier. The Mulino administration attributes the drop to efforts undertaken to funnel migrants through limited entry points and up patrols in the jungle-clad Darien.

Mulino said Sunday that he had offered Rubio access to an airstrip in the Darien to serve as a bridge for the U.S. to deport migrants from other countries.

But Venezuelans have by far been the majority of migrants crossing the Darien in recent years, and Venezuela is not accepting flights from Panama, either.

Rubio emphasized Panama’s cooperation on Monday, noting that migration numbers had fallen dramatically.

“This is an effective way to stem the flow of illegal migration, of mass migration, which is destructive and destabilizing,” Rubio said. “And it would have been impossible to do without the strong partnership we have here with our friends and allies in Panama. And we’re going to continue to do it.”

He also echoed a sentiment that is common in the region but unusual coming from a U.S. official: “We also understand from the United States that most people who come in here have as a goal, eventually making it to the United States,” he said. “So you could say that, at a certain point, our border doesn’t begin at Texas or Mexico. It begins a lot farther down.”

A short time later, Rubio departed for El Salvador, where migration will again be a top agenda item. He will also go to Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.

Rubio’s trip comes amid a sweeping freeze in U.S. foreign assistance and stop-work orders that have shut down U.S.-funded programs targeting illegal migration and crime in Central American countries. The State Department said Sunday that Rubio had approved waivers for certain critical programs in countries he is visiting, but details of those were not immediately available.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of Marco Rubio at https://apnews.com/hub/marco-rubio.