A group of families and children hailing from Uzbekistan, China, Afghanistan, Russia and more countries climbed down the stairs of a plane in Costa Rica’s capital Thursday, the first flight of deportees from other nations Costa Rica agreed to hold in detention facilities for the Trump administration while it organised the return back to their countries.
Advertisement
The flight of 135 deportees, half of them minors, added Costa Rica to a growing list of Latin American nations to serve as a stopover for migrants as US President Donald Trump ’s administration seeks to step up deportations.
While Costa Rica joins Panama in holding deportees from mostly Asian origin until their repatriation can be arranged or they can seek protection somewhere, Honduras on Thursday also facilitated a handoff of deportees between the US and Venezuela from a flight coming from Guantanamo Bay.
The migrants arriving in Costa Rica would be bused to a rural holding facility near the Panama border, where they will be detained up to six weeks and be flown back to their countries of origin, said Omer Badilla, Costa Rica’s deputy minister of the interior and police. The US government would cover the costs.
The arrangement was part of a deal the Trump administration struck with Costa Rica during US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit earlier this month. It comes as Trump has pressured countries across the region to help facilitate deportations at times under the threat of steep tariffs or sanctions.
Advertisement