U.S.-BOUND MIGRANTS STRANDED ON BEACHES NEAR PANAMA BORDER

Some 700 migrants bound for the United States are stranded on a Caribbean beach in Colombia because the country's borders remain closed to curb the spread of coronavirus, the migration agency said Friday.

The migrants are stuck on beaches in Necocli, in Antioquia province, from where they hope to pass through the dangerous Darian Gap toward Panama and then north toward the U.S., said migration agency director Juan Francisco Espinosa.

The stranded migrants include some 647 Haitian nationals, 23 Cubans and 19 from African countries.

In the last week more than 500 migrants arrived in Necocli, demanding they be allowed to travel to Panama.

“This isn't possible because there is a presidential order to close the borders, and additionally, Panama has also closed its borders,” Espinosa said.