Panama: Site assessment of Migrant Receiving Stations (MRS), Round 1 - March, 2021
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SITUATIONAL CONTEXT
On January 8, 2021, the Government of Panama ordered the reopening of land borders for the entry and exit of nationals, residents and foreigners; however, the Government of Costa Rica, within its plan for the gradual reopening, stipulated the reopening of its land borders, for non-nationals, as of April 5, 2021.
Despite the closure of land borders between Panama and Costa Rica, the flow of migrants between the two borders has continued both regularly (with bilateral authorization between the two governments) and irregularly (with migrants voluntarily withdrawing from Operation Controlled Flow and crossing the PanamaCosta Rica border). On the other hand, the Panama-Colombia border presents a different scenario due to the terrain conditions in the Darien, the border area between the two countries, which has high levels of porosity.