Restrictions for Colombians

Juan Carlos Varela

The Panamanian authorities will check the criminal records of Colombians

MARIJULIA PUJOL LLOYD
mpujolstar@laestrella.com.pa

PANAMA. The Panamanian government is going to try find ways to stop the entry of Colombians, who come to Panama as tourists and then stay in the country illegally.

The Vice-President of the Republic and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Juan Carlos Varela said that they are going to find mechanisms to prevent the sale of airline tickets to those people who are planning to live in Panama, without complying with the immigration process.

Varela said that the Colombian and Panamanian authorities are going to use intelligence to identify those people.

Special interest will be given to individuals with criminal records or pending cases in Colombia.

The whole idea is to have more strict control of who is coming into the country.

Panama has a serious problem with illegal immigrants from Colombia who consider the isthmus a safe haven.

A number of Colombian drug traffickers and terrorist frequently cross the border between the two countries fleeing from the authorities.

Last February two alleged drug traffickers were abducted and killed in Panama and their bodies dumped in Veracruz. They were connected to the Envigado cartel.

Publicidad