By Deborah Nnamdi
The United States have deported 135 migrants of various nationalities, including 65 minors, to Costa Rica on Thursday, according to the Costa Rican government.
Their flight departed from San Diego, California, and arrived at a base next to Juan Santamaria International Airport, an AFP journalist confirmed.
The deportees, who will be repatriated to their countries of origin from Costa Rica, were taken by bus from the capital San Jose to a migrant facility about 360 kilometers (224 miles) away, near the border with Panama.
The 65 children on the flight were all accompanied by a relative, according to Costa Rica’s deputy interior minister Omer Badilla, and none on the flight had a criminal record.
The group of migrants included individuals from Afghanistan, China, Iran, Russia, Armenia, Georgia, Vietnam, Jordan, Kazakhstan and Ghana.
Costa Rica, Panama and Guatemala have all agreed to receive migrants from other countries expelled by the United States and hold them until they are sent to their home nations or other host countries.
Last week, 299 deported migrants landed in Panama, with a group of about 100 transferred to the San Vicente refugee camp in Meteti, in the jungle province of Darien.
