Panama to build migrant shelter as hundreds of Cubans enter

PANAMA CITY – Panama’s government says it will build a migrant shelter on its southern border with Colombia, after the latest wave of migrants crossed into the country.

Some 716 migrants, mostly Cubans, entered Panama over the weekend through the jungle province of Darien.

The director of Panama’s immigration agency says the latest group also included migrants from Haiti and Africa. Javier Carrillo says the migrants wanted to travel to the United States.

Authorities said Thursday the new $9 million shelter will be able to handle about 400 migrants.

The government had previously planned to build a shelter, but the idea was put on hold. In 2016, thousands of Cubans were stranded in Panama and Costa Rica after Nicaragua refused to let them through.