#Panama 's government says 68,000 migrants crossed Darien Gap in August, an all time monthly record. U.S. officials increased sanctions for crossing the border illegally after title 42 ended in May, but many migrants keep heading north despite new rules.

twitter.com/MinSegPma/stat…

Exclusive: The US and Venezuela are currently in direct talks to explore a temporary lift of sanctions in exchange for allowing fair presidential elections next year bloomberg.com/news/articles/… by Andreina Itriago A. Nicolle Yapur Jennifer Jacobs Eric Martin

🇪🇨🚨Ecuador presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was shot dead at an event, local newspaper Expreso reported citing the politician’s uncle, Galo Valencia

via Stephan Küffner A.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio has been assassinated during a political rally north of Quito.
#Ecuador

Colombia’s president says his son has been arrested in connection to a money laundering investigation.

As a father, he hopes his son will “reflect on his mistakes” and as president promises not to interfere with the probe.

He made the last flight out of Kabul -- only to be gunned down on Capitol Hill while trying to provide for his family. Heartbreaking story about the funeral of Nasratullah Ahmad Yar Susan Svrluga
washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/…

NEW: I’ve spent the day talking to family and friends of Nasrat Ahmad Yar, the Lyft driver shot, killed in NE DC. He was a respected interpreter in Afghanistan. His wife wanted him to come home in Alexandria that night but he chose to work so he could make money for rent. WUSA9

Biden administration failed to foresee Afghanistan mayhem, Department of State review finds, affirming critics who said that bureaucratic lethargy, failure of imagination played a significant role in one of the administration’s darkest moments. w/ Dan Lamothe washingtonpost.com/national-secur…

Sad news: A 6-year-old unaccompanied Afghan boy brought to the U.S. after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021 died last week while in federal government custody, marking the third such death this year, a U.S. official told CBS News.
cbsnews.com/news/child-eva…

🧵We spoke with the father of the kids who survived an almost unfathomable 40 days in the Colombian jungle.

The rescue of the children has provided a moment of unified celebration in a deeply divided nation.

But ... (and please read on)

nytimes.com/2023/06/13/wor…

🇨🇴 | ¡MILAGRO EN COLOMBIA!

LA FOTO: Momento en que encuentran con vida a los 4 niños, entre ellos una bebé, que estuvieron perdidos durante más de 40 días en la selva del Guaviare.

Four children who disappeared in the Amazon jungle after their plane crashed on May 1 have been found alive, Colombia's president says cnn.it/3Nlwfsp

#Panama says ~170,000 people have crossed #Darien jungle year-to-date, vs ~128,000 end-April, suggesting still-high numbers of US-bound migrants after Title 42. Border police say they killed 3 gunmen that preyed on migrants and recovered 10 cadavers of migrants from river rapids

“The soaring number of applications for the sponsorship program … threatens to derail the policy's main objective: encouraging would-be migrants to refrain from crossing the southern border illegally by offering them a meaningful chance to enter the U.S. legally.”

'Officials at the San Ysidro Port of Entry have been refusing to accept asylum seekers who don’t have appointments obtained through a smartphone app even though new government rules indicate they should be taken in and screened.'

sandiegouniontribune.com/news/immigrati…

“Many [Afghans] had partnered with the West for years…. They packed up their children, parents or entire families, sold their apartments and borrowed enormous sums to pay for the passage, convinced there was nothing left for them back home.”

nytimes.com/2023/05/21/wor…

It takes bravery to allow The New York Times to document your most difficult moments. Here, the story of Taiba and Ali. nytimes.com/2023/05/21/wor…

Migration may be reduced on the US side of the border, for now. Immediately to the south, and along the migration route? Not so much.

Today, the Biden administration finalized its proposal limiting asylum at the border.

The US will now be significantly limiting asylum protections for those who cross into the US without authorization.

“We will never go back to what it was before Trump.”