U.S. Deports 119 Migrants, Including Uzbeks, to Panama Under Agreement

The United States has deported 119 migrants of various nationalities to Panama as part of a bilateral agreement, Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino announced on Thursday. According to Reuters, a U.S. Air Force flight carrying deportees from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam arrived in Panama on Wednesday. Two additional flights are expected soon, bringing the total number of deported individuals to 360. The migrants will stay at a shelter near the Darién jungle, a critical migration route between Central and South America, before being sent to their home countries. “Through a cooperation program with the U.S. government, a flight arrived yesterday with 119 people of various nationalities,” President Mulino said. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not commented on the deportations. Earlier this month, after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Mulino reaffirmed that Panama’s sovereignty over the Panama Canal is non-negotiable. However, he also indicated that Panama could deport more migrants as part of ongoing cooperation with the U.S. During the same meeting, Panama’s security officials discussed the possibility of expanding an existing July 2024 agreement, which currently allows the U.S. to deport Venezuelan, Colombian, and Ecuadorian migrants through a Panamanian airstrip at U.S. expense. Panama’s Deputy Minister for Security, Luis Icaza, reported that the number of migrants crossing the Darién jungle dropped by 90% in January compared to the same period last year. The U.S. deportation policy could be part of a broader strategy to speed up removals of migrants whose home countries are reluctant to accept them. In January, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his hardline stance on illegal immigration while stating that he has no objections to legal immigration. He also defended his plan to end birthright citizenship as part of his broader immigration policy.

WHO and UNDP to Upgrade Kazakhstan’s Virological Labs

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Healthcare, the World Health Organization (WHO) Office in Kazakhstan, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have announced a strategic partnership to upgrade the country's critical health infrastructure, supported by a three-year grant from the Pandemic Fund. As reported by UNDP in Kazakhstan, the collaboration will better prepare Kazakhstan for potential pandemics by enhancing its management of response to infectious diseases. Key components of the initiative include renovating and modernizing Almaty's virological laboratory and the construction of another in Turkestan. Both facilities will incorporate SMART (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology)  as well as “green” technologies to ensure sustainability and environmental responsibility. The project also includes the renovation of the National Scientific Center of Especially Dangerous Infections in Almaty to improve the infrastructure, functionality, and safety standards of its virological and bacteriological laboratories, and the modernization of  sanitary and quarantine checkpoints across Kazakhstan. Russia earlier reported on the alleged existence of US laboratories developing biological weapons in Kazakhstan. Issued by the Kremlin-controlled media in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the report's claims have been staunchly denied by Zauresh Zhumadilova, Director General of the National Scientific Center of Especially Dangerous Infections under the Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan. According to Zhumadilova, all laboratories in Kazakhstan belong to the government and are controlled by the country’s Ministry of Health. In June, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Kanat Iskakov, also commented on rumors concerning the alleged existence of foreign biological laboratories in Kazakhstan and reiterated, “The [Kazakh] Ministry of Foreign Affairs and authorized bodies have several times stated that there are no biological laboratories run by the USA or any other country, in Kazakhstan." He added that the  research center in Almaty, fully funded by the state, is run by local specialists. Reuters has reported that artificial intelligence (AI) was behind the fake news, originated in China, about the existence of U.S. laboratories allegedly developing biological weapons in Kazakhstan. Referencing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 2024 Homeland Threat Assessment, the agency stated that a Chinese government-controlled news site using a generative AI platform, had promoted a previously circulated false claim that the United States was running a lab in Kazakhstan to create biological weapons for use against China. According to DHS, China and other adversaries are developing AI technologies that could undermine U.S. cyber defenses, including generative AI programs that support malware attacks. In response, Reuters reports that the Biden administration is poised to launch a new front to safeguard the U.S. from AI technologies developed by China and Russia, and comments on the potential employment of AI by U.S. adversaries to wage aggressive cyberattacks or even create potent biological weapons.