BOGOTA, Colombia _ Colombia has deported more than 1,350 undocumented migrants in recent days _ many of them Cubans trying to reach the United States _ as the Andean nation becomes the latest to crack down on human smuggling.
Colombia's Foreign Ministry reported late Monday that there were only about 350 migrants left in and around the port city of Turbo, down from about 1,800 in May.
Last week, authorities here warned the migrants, who had been camping out in the city after Panama closed its borders to them earlier this year, that they could either leave the country under their own accord or be deported.
On Monday, Panama reported that an estimated 800 migrants bound for the United States were attempting to cross into Central America through the dense and dangerous Darien jungle. Large swaths of the Colombian Darien are controlled by guerrilla groups and smuggling networks.
"We're worried about what might happen to irregular migrants that decide to continue their journey with criminal gangs that are dedicated to human smuggling," Colombia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Monday.
Colombia had been under pressure by human rights groups to give Cubans stranded here asylum rather than deport them back to the island or their last point of entry.
The Foreign Ministry said none of the migrants who had reached Turbo had asked for asylum. Rather, they were trying to reach the United States: "The majority of them have said they fear losing benefits in the United States that come with 'wet foot dry foot' and the Cuban Adjustment (Act)."
Cubans who do reach the United States are eligible for a number of economic benefits and a fast-track to citizenship. The government in Havana has blamed the U.S. policy for triggering brain drain and fueling the migratory crisis.
