PANAMA CITY: They crossed oceans to get to the US, fleeing conflict, religious persecution, poverty and government crackdowns in countries such as Afghanistan, Somalia, Cameroon, China, Pakistan and Iran.
After flying to Central and South America, they bused through countries where they didn’t speak the language and walked through unfamiliar jungle to get to the US-Mexico border.
Within days, they were detained and put on military aircraft that flew nearly 300 of them to Panama as US President Donald Trump sought to accelerate deportations to more complicated destinations.
Panama was supposed to be a stopover. But for those unwilling to return home — mostly out of well-founded fear — Panama sent them to a guarded camp without access to lawyers in the same Darién jungle many had crossed months earlier on their way north.
Over the past week, under legal pressure, the Panamanian government dropped them off at a bus station in the capital with 30 days to figure out where they will go next.
“It feels like the whole world is crushing down on me. It’s like everything is stopping,” said Isha Len, a 29-year-old from Cameroon. “I risked everything, my life, everything, crossing the Darién Gap, just to be sent back.”
Here are the stories that some of the deportees told The Associated Press:
Isha Len, 29, Cameroon
After conflict broke out in her small town, Len crossed Cameroon by car and minibus, then a fisherman friend carried her four hours by boat to Nigeria.
Len, a schoolteacher, flew to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where she said authorities detained her for a month in the airport. From there, she wound north through South America by bus, following other migrants until they reached the Darién Gap.
She walked days through the dangerous jungle that divides Colombia and Panama before boarding buses that carried her through Central America. After being kidnapped for days by a gang in Guatemala, she crossed into southern Mexico, where she took a boat along the Pacific coast to evade authorities. After she landed, she rode eight hours to Mexico City, continuing on by bus and car to Tijuana.
She crossed the US border and presented herself to American authorities.
Artemis Ghasemzadeh, 27, Iran
Artemis Ghasemzadeh left her country in January, fleeing after converting from Islam to Christianity – something that could cost Ghasemzadeh her life in Iran. She flew to Dubai, where she stayed two weeks and then took a flight to South Korea.
From there she flew to Mexico City, staying there for three weeks before going to Tijuana. She crossed the US border on Feb. 9, and was detained for five days, including her birthday.
“For changing your religion, your punishment is death,” she said. “We don’t know what will happen.”
Wang Qiu, 53, China
Wang Qiu said he left home after he was imprisoned for three years for speaking out about democracy and human rights issues.
He flew from Beijing to Cuba, then to the small South American country of Suriname. From there, he traveled by land: through Guyana, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, before trekking through the Darién Gap.
He moved up through Central America and Mexico before being detained after crossing into the US in San Diego.
Qamar Abdi, 19, Somalia
Qamar Abdi, left for the US on Aug. 17, due to warfare between the government and militants of Al-Shabab, which the US recognizes as a terrorist group.
She hopped from buses to shared cars for nearly a month until she reached South Africa. From there, she flew to Sao Paulo, Brazil, and spent the next six months riding buses north.
When she arrived at the northern tip of Colombia, she traveled six days through the Darién Gap, landing in Panama on New Year’s Day.
She took buses to the southern Mexican border city of Tapachula, where she was temporarily kidnapped and robbed by a gang. To avoid immigration authorities, she traveled hours packed on a boat with other migrants along Mexico’s Pacific coast, then took a bus to Mexico City. She spent two weeks there before driving to Tijuana, where she crossed into the US
Ebrahim Ghezelgechi, 36, Iran
Ebrahim Ghezelgechi fled Iran with his wife, Sahar; 10-year-old daughter, Aylin; and 11-year-old son, Sam, on Nov. 21.
The family flew to Brazil, then to Panama and finally Nicaragua. From there, they took buses north to Guatemala, then crossed into southern Mexico by boat. They road on top of trains and in buses and vans to get to Tijuana.
After Mexico authorities sent them back to the southern part of the country, they took a plane to the resort area of Los Cabos. There, they were detained, had their passports taken and were sent back south again.
They tried getting north a number of times, punted back by Mexican authorities, before eventually paying a driver to take them to Tijuana.
After crossing into the US, they were detained in San Diego for a week.
Samin Haider, 21, Pakistan
Samin Haider left for Dubai in 2023 after violence surged in his region of Parachinar, which borders Afghanistan and has been plagued for decades by conflicts between Shi’ite and Sunni Muslim communities.
Haider was there for 1 1/2 years before the United Arab Emirates canceled visas for Pakistanis.
Haider then flew to Mexico and traveled to the US-Mexico border with the hopes of seeking asylum.
Now deported to Panama, he still hopes to reach the US
Elham Ghaedi, 29, Iran
Elham Ghaedi left on Oct. 21, flying to Brazil and then to Venezuela’s capital Caracas.
She traveled to Colombia, where took a bus north and then walked five days through the Darién Gap.
She stayed 15 days in a migrant camp in southern Panama before taking a bus through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and to Mexico’s southern border. There, migration authorities detained her for six days.
She traveled north to Mexico City, where she spent a month, before boarding a flight to Tijuana. US authorities detained her when she crossed to San Diego.
Hayatullah Omagh, 29, Afghanistan
Omagh fled Afghanistan in 2022 after the takeover of the Taliban because he identified as an atheist and was part of an ethnic minority, something that could put his life in danger.
He first went to Pakistan, where he got a visa for six months, and struggled to get a new one due to his Afghani passport.
He then went to Iran and worked there for 1 1/2 years. But the country wouldn’t accept him as a refugee.
He managed to get a visa to Brazil, which offered a number of Afghan people refuge after the rise of the Taliban, and flew to Sao Paulo in 2024.
Hoping to reunite with friends and family in the US, Omagh paid smugglers to move him north through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. He trekked through the Darién Gap, then took buses north through Central America to southern Mexico.
Mexican authorities detained him and dropped him back in southern Mexico a few times before he managed to take a flight to Mexico City and later to the US, where he was detained.
“After so much time, I’ve lost hope,” he said.
They crossed the world to reach the US. Now deported under Trump, they’re stuck in Panama
https://arab.news/zmn75
They crossed the world to reach the US. Now deported under Trump, they’re stuck in Panama
- Panama was supposed to be a stopover. But for those unwilling to return home — mostly out of well-founded fear — Panama sent them to a guarded camp without access to lawyers in the same Darién jungle many had crossed months earlier on their way north
Indian PM says Albanese re-election to strengthen ties
- India is expected to host a summit meeting of the Quad later this year
India has deepened defense cooperation with Australia in recent years as part of the Quad alliance with the United States and Japan, a grouping seen as a bulwark against China.
Modi said he looked forward to working together to “further deepen” ties with Australia and “advance our shared vision for peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.”
India is expected to host a summit meeting of the Quad later this year.
“Congratulations on your resounding victory and re-election... This emphatic mandate indicates the enduring faith of the Australian people in your leadership,” Modi said on X.
Albanese wooed Modi during a visit to Australia in 2023, referring to him as the “boss” during a massive rally of Indian-Australians.
Modi had earlier hosted Albanese in India, when they performed a lap of honor aboard a cricket-themed golf cart before a Test match, and bonded over their countries’ shared love of the sport.
Romanians vote in a presidential redo after voided election sparked deep political crisis
- The election redo is a crossroads moment for Romania as it seeks to restore its democracy and retain its geopolitical alliances
- The decision to annul the election and the ban on Georgescu’s candidacy drew criticism from US Vice President JD Vance, Elon Musk and Russia, which publicly supported his candidacy in the rerun
BUCHAREST, Romania: Romanians are casting ballots Sunday in a critical presidential election redo after last year’s annulled vote plunged the European Union and NATO member country into its worst political crisis in decades.
Eleven candidates are vying for the presidency and a May 18 runoff is expected. Polls opened at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) and will close at 9 p.m. (1800 GMT). Romanians abroad have been able to vote since Friday.
Romania’s political landscape was shaken last year when a top court voided the previous election in which the far-right outsider Calin Georgescu topped first-round, following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, which Moscow has denied.
Like many countries in the EU, anti-establishment sentiment is running high in Romania, fueled by high inflation and cost of living, a large budget deficit and a sluggish economy. Observers say the malaise has bolstered support for nationalist and far-right figures like Georgescu, who is under investigation and barred from the rerun.
While data from local surveys should be taken with caution, a median of polls suggests that hard-right nationalist George Simion will enter the runoff, likely pitting him against Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, or the governing coalition’s candidate, Crin Antonescu.
Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician and former anti-corruption activist who founded the Save Romania Union party (USR) in 2016, is running on a pro-EU “Honest Romania” ticket. He says Romania needs a president “who has the will and the ability to reform the system.”
Veteran centrist Antonescu, 65, has campaigned on retaining Romania’s pro-Western orientation, while Victor Ponta, a former prime minister between 2012 and 2015, has also pushed a MAGA-style “Romania First” campaign and boasts of having close ties to the Trump administration.
Another hopeful, Elena Lasconi, came second in last year’s first round ballot and is participating in the rerun. She has positioned herself as a staunchly pro-Western, anti-system candidate, railing against what she describes as a corrupt political class.
Distrust in the authorities remains widespread, especially for those who voted for Georgescu, a sizeable electorate that Simion has sought to tap into.
“The anti-establishment sentiment is not like an anarchic movement, but is against the people who destroyed this country,” Simion, who came fourth in last year’s race and later backed Georgescu, told The Associated Press. “We are not a democratic state anymore.”
Simion said that his hard-right nationalist Alliance for the Unity of Romanians party is “perfectly aligned with the MAGA movement,” capitalizing on a growing wave of populism in Europe after US President Donald Trump’s political comeback. AUR rose to prominence in a 2020 parliamentary election, proclaims to stand for “family, nation, faith, and freedom,” and has since doubled its support.
The election redo is a crossroads moment for Romania as it seeks to restore its democracy and retain its geopolitical alliances, which have become strained since the canceled election fiasco.
The decision to annul the election and the ban on Georgescu’s candidacy drew criticism from US Vice President JD Vance, Elon Musk and Russia, which publicly supported his candidacy in the rerun.
The presidential role carries a five-year term and significant decision-making powers in national security and foreign policy.
Japan protests China’s airspace ‘violation’ near disputed islands
- The Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement released late Saturday that its vice minister lodged “a strong protest” with the Chinese ambassador to Japan
- On the same day, China’s coast guard announced it had used a helicopter to “expel” a Japanese airplane from airspace around the disputed islands
TOKYO: Tokyo has lodged a protest against Beijing after a Chinese helicopter “violated” Japan’s airspace and four vessles entered its territorial waters around disputed islands.
The islands in the East China Sea — known as the Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan — are claimed by Beijing but administered by Tokyo and are a frequent hotspot in bilateral tensions.
The Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement released late Saturday that its vice minister lodged “a strong protest” with the Chinese ambassador to Japan “over the intrusion of four China Coast Guard vessels into Japan’s territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands” on the same day.
The vice minister also protested “the violation of Japan’s territorial airspace by a helicopter launched from one of the China Coast Guard vessels, strongly urging (China) to ensure that similar acts do not recur.”
Japan’s defense ministry said the helicopter flew within Japanese airspace for about 15 minutes on Saturday near the Senkaku islands.
“The Self-Defense Forces responded by scrambling fighter jets,” the ministry said.
Public broadcaster NHK and other local media reported that this is the first time a Chinese government helicopter violated the Japanese airspace off the disputed islands.
On the same day, China’s coast guard announced it had used a helicopter to “expel” a Japanese airplane from airspace around the disputed islands.
Liu Dejun, spokesman for China’s coast guard, said a Japanese civilian aircraft “illegally entered” the airspace of the islands at 11:19 am (GMT 0219) and left five minutes later.
Beijing frequently announces it has driven Japanese vessels and aircraft away from the islands, but Japanese officials have told AFP that Chinese authorities sometimes announce expulsions when none have occurred.
Unnamed Japanese officials told local media that Beijing was possibly reacting to a small Japanese civilian aircraft flying near the islands.
Chinese and Japanese patrol vessels in the East China Sea have routinely staged dangerous face-offs around disputed islands.
Tensions between China and other claimants to parts of the East and South China Seas has driven Japan to deepen ties with the Philippines and United States.
5 arrested in UK for ‘terrorism offenses’: police
- The men aged between 29 and 46 were arrested on suspicion of “preparation of a terrorist act”
LONDON: British police on Sunday said they had arrested five men on suspicion of “terrorism offenses.”
The arrests were carried out in London, Swindon and the Greater Manchester area and were related to “a suspected plot to target specific premises,” London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
The men aged between 29 and 46 were arrested on suspicion of “preparation of a terrorist act” and remain in custody, the police said.
“This is a fast-moving investigation and we are working closely with those at the affected site to keep them updated,” said Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism chief Dominic Murphy.
“The investigation is still in its early stages and we are exploring various lines of enquiry to establish any potential motivation as well as to identify whether there may be any further risk to the public linked to this matter,” he said.
Singapore’s long-ruling party wins another landslide in election boost for new prime minister
- People’s Action Party won 87 out of a total 97 seats. The opposition Workers Party maintained its 10 seats
- PM Wong has appealed for a resounding mandate to steer trade-reliant Singapore through economic troubles
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s long-ruling People’s Action Party won another landslide in Saturday’s general elections, extending its 66-year unbroken rule in a huge boost for Prime Minister Lawrence Wong who took power a year ago.
The Election Department announced the PAP won 82 Parliamentary seats after vote counting ended. The party had earlier won five seats uncontested, giving it 87 out of a total 97 seats. The opposition Workers Party maintained its 10 seats.
The PAP’s popular vote rose to 65.6 percent, up from a near-record low of 61 percent in 2020 polls. Jubilant supporters of the PAP, which had ruled Singapore since 1959, gathered in stadiums waved flags and cheered in celebration.
A US-trained economist who is also finance minister, Wong’s appeal for a resounding mandate to steer trade-reliant Singapore through economic troubles following US President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes has hit home. The government has lowered its growth forecast and warned of a possible recession.
Wong, 52, said he was humbled and grateful for the solid mandate for the PAP. He acknowledged voters’ desire to have more alternative voices in government, but said a strong PAP team was needed to tackle challenges ahead.
“The results will put Singapore in a better position to face this turbulent world,” he said.
Eugene Tan, a law professor at the Singapore Management University, said the opposition’s failure to make further inroads after 2020 was a surprise. “Singapore voters played their cards close to their chest. Today, they indicated that their trust is with a party that has delivered over the years,” he said.
Wong succeeded Lee Hsien Loong to become the city-state’s fourth leader. Lee stepped down in May 2024 after two decades at the helm but remained in the Cabinet as a senior minister. His retirement as premier ended a family dynasty started by his father, Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first leader, who built the former colonial backwater into one of the world’s richest nations during 31 years in office.
The PAP is seen as a beacon of stability and prosperity, but tight government control and the rising cost of living in one of the world’s most expensive cities also has led to growing unhappiness, especially among younger voters. Widening income disparity, increasingly unaffordable housing, overcrowding and restrictions on free speech have loosened the PAP’s grip on power.
The opposition says giving it a stronger presence in Parliament will allow a more balanced political system and greater accountability. But they face an uphill task, often hamstrung by a lack of resources, fragmented support and a lack of unity. Critics said gerrymandering also gives the PAP an advantage.
Pritam Singh, leader of the Workers Party, acknowledged it was a tough contest and vowed to continue the fight for a more balanced Parliament. “The slate is wiped clean, we start work again tomorrow, and we go again,” he said.
‘Bilateral defense and security ties’
The United States government offered its congratulations to Singapore and Wong.
In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US and Singapore had shared a “strong and enduring strategic partnership and a commitment to a secure, free, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region” for almost 60 years.
“We look forward to continuing to work closely with the newly elected government and Prime Minister Wong to strengthen economic growth and our bilateral defense and security ties, which benefit Americans, Singaporeans, and others across the region,” Rubio said.
While the Workers Party failed to expand its presence, it had consolidated its support with increased share vote in some areas, said Southeast Asia political analyst Bridget Welsh. Other smaller opposition parties however, failed to make a breakthrough.
Welsh said voters opted for stability amid concerns over global volatility due to sweeping US tariffs. Wong’s more approachable leadership in engaging younger voters and efforts to renew PAP by bringing in about a-third of new faces also helped swung votes, she said.
“I call this the Wong and Trump effect,” she said. “The issue of economic insecurity really did reinforce his mandate.”
