Panama’s newly-elected president, Jose Raul Mulino, has declared the ongoing migrant crisis in the Western Hemisphere a “United States problem.” He also stated that deportation flights, partly funded by the US, are only voluntary. Despite efforts to limit crossings through the dangerous Darien Gap, over half a million migrants passed through Panama last year. Mulino has vowed to make changes and increase deportations but insists that only migrants who agree will be returned to their homelands.