Panama says received first plane of US deportees

Panama City: Panama said Thursday it had received a first US military plane transporting 119 deportees of various nationalities, who will now be repat...

Panama City: Panama said Thursday it had received a first US military plane transporting 119 deportees of various nationalities, who will now be repatriated to their own countries.

President Jose Raul Mulino, who has offered his country as a stopover for migrants expelled from the United States by the Donald Trump administration, said the plane arrived Wednesday with "people of the most diverse nationalities."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Panama two weeks ago, meeting Mulino in the midst of a dispute over ownership of the Panama Canal, which Trump had vowed the United States would be "taking back."

After the visit, Rubio voiced optimism Panama would address US concerns, including over alleged Chinese influence on the operation of the critical US-built waterway.

Mulino also promised to step up cooperation on the new administration's top priority -- repatriating undocumented migrants.