PANAMA CITY, July 2, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Jose Raul Mulino was sworn in Monday as Panama's new president, with the right-leaning leader pledging to make his Central American country no longer a "transit" point for US-bound undocumented migrants.

Mulino, 65, was elected in May after a campaign in which he vowed to close the dangerous migration route through the Darien jungle between Colombia and Panama.

More than half a million undocumented migrants passed through the so-called Darien Gap last year -- subject to abuses criticized by rights groups.

On Monday, after taking the oath of office, he said Panama "cannot continue to finance the economic cost of illegal migration... Panama will no longer be a transit country for illegal immigrants."

He has previously promised to deport migrants bound for the United States who enter Panama illegally.

Following the ceremony, he signed an agreement with with President Joe Biden's top border official, Alejandro Mayorkas, that pledges US funding for repatriating undocumented migrants from Panama.

"By returning such individuals to their country of origin, we will help deter irregular migration in the region and at our Southern border, and halt the enrichment of malign smuggling networks that prey on vulnerable migrants," said US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson in a statement.

The 165-mile (265-kilometer) Darien Gap has become a key corridor for migrants heading from South America through Central America and Mexico in hopes of reaching the United States and a chance at a better life.

They face dense jungle, treacherous terrain, wild animals and violent criminal gangs that extort, kidnap and abuse them.

Enough migrants traverse the Darien Gap that the Panamanian government has set up facilities and earmarked resources to aid them.
But Mulino, a conservative lawyer, pledged during his campaign that he would shut it down.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who attended the inauguration, also discussed the migration crisis with Mulino, according to an official report which gave no further details.

Mulino is the protege of popular former president Ricardo Martinelli, who could not run because he lost an appeal against a money-laundering conviction.

Among other challenges, Mulino also faces deep-rooted corruption, economic woes and a severe drought that has hobbled the economically critical Panama Canal.