Donald Trump’s arrival to power has pushed for this return, which is not always easy.
14ymedio, Madrid, 1 July 2025 — A wave of migrants wanders along the road. After years of a steady flow north, more and more people in the region are returning to their countries of origin or stopping along their route, forced by lack of resources, obstacles at the borders or disenchantment with the “American dream,” a phenomenon that is beginning to be noticed in Panama, Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador, among other countries.
They tried to reach the United States, but the arrival of Donald Trump to power has pushed thousands of migrants back to South America. The return is not easy. Many migrants use land and sea routes to avoid the Darien Jungle and face limitations due to lack of documentation to access humanitarian flights or voluntary return programs, while remaining in vulnerable conditions.
In Panama, migrants collide with the Darién barrier and the high cost of continuing on a boat through the Caribbean. “Here we are held back by the sea and money,” they confess to EFE. In Miramar, a small coastal town in the Panamanian Caribbean, dozens of migrants, mostly Venezuelans, hope to embark for Colombia after running out of means to continue their journey.
In Miramar, a small coastal town in the Panamanian Caribbean, dozens of migrants, mostly Venezuelans, hope to embark for Colombia after running out of means to continue their journey
Marielbis Campos, mother of four children who traveled through the Darién carrying one of them on her back, waited in Mexico for more than a year for an asylum appointment. But with Trump’s return to the White House, the notification never came. It was then that she decided to return to Brazil, but the return has become another ordeal. Marielbis is accompanied by her four children, ages seven, four, three and one.
Marielbis’ journey is that of thousands of migrants. The tightening of immigration policies in the United States has changed the direction of the flow. According to data from the Panamanian authorities, more than 12,700 migrants, 94% of them Venezuelans, have transited from north to south since November 2024, a reversal of the flow that previously filled the route to Darién, which over half a million people crossed in 2023 to go north. The number has been declining after a peak in April with 3,000 migrants, which fell to 1,779 in June.
Return journeys are marked by precariousness and fear. In Panama, some migrants such as Jesús Alfredo Aristigueta, a 32-year-old Venezuelan, report being kidnapped in Mexico and extorted on his return route. And he regrets that the help from the Venezuelan authorities that once made it easier to go north has disappeared for those who now need “a push to return.”
The phenomenon of “reverse transit” is also intensifying in Colombia. Between January and May, more than 10,200 migrants, mostly Venezuelans, have returned through the Darién, where they crossed rivers and areas of difficult access without any presence of officials or agents, exposed to trafficking networks and sexual violence. The Office of the Ombudsman has warned about the lack of protection channels for these migrants, many of them unaccompanied minors.
Migrants complain that the help from the Venezuelan authorities that once made it easier to go north has disappeared for those who now need “a push to return”
“Reverse migration is a challenge that requires binational cooperation and urgent protection,” says Mireille Girard, representative in Colombia of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Many of these people return without resources or support networks and in the aftermath of violence and exploitation during the journey, she says.
The authorities of Venezuela claim to have reactivated a program called “Gran Misión Vuelta a la Patria,” which has facilitated the return of more than 5,600 Venezuelans deported from the United States between January and May this year, some on flights with stopovers in Mexico and Honduras.
This return occurs within the framework of a deportation agreement signed between Caracas and Washington despite the absence of diplomatic relations since 2019. Returnees receive medical assistance and reintegration support, with programs from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) providing training to help them achieve economic self-sufficiency.
Ecuador has not recorded a massive return after the change in United States policies, but the country has undergone a change of destination for migrants. More and more Ecuadorians are heading to Argentina, where over 7,700 people have traveled since the beginning of 2025 without being recorded as having returned. Displacement is driven by the lack of opportunities and growing insecurity in the country.
It is estimated that about 100,000 Ecuadorians have emigrated annually since 2021 on a regular basis and not returned. Meanwhile, the Government is trying to promote circular migration programs, which have so far been limited in scope.
It is estimated that about 100,000 Ecuadorians have emigrated annually since 2021 on a regular basis and not returned
Peru also faces a complex situation. In addition to being a major recipient of Venezuelan migrants, with 1.6 million on its territory, the country is dealing with the suspension of international cooperation funds, which means limited attention to vulnerable migrant populations. At the same time, Peruvians in an irregular situation in the United States have been deported, with more than 12,000 returning since 2022.
In the Dominican Republic, the phenomenon of return has its own peculiarity. The policy of mass deportations of undocumented Haitians has led to an increase in voluntary returns. Between January and May of this year, more than 153,000 Haitians have been deported following measures that include requiring documentation even in hospitals, which is affecting pregnant women and people seeking basic health care.
This panorama of reverse migration in Latin America reflects the impact of migratory restrictions imposed by the United States, lack of resources, violence along the routes and disenchantment with the “American dream”. For the thousands of people starting their return journey, this change in the migratory flow is taking place without protective measures or initiatives of bi-national cooperation, and amid new dangers.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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