Three deportees drown when boat capsizes off Panama after U.S. sent them to southern Mexico
Feb 10, 2026·Location: Guna Yala, Panama
Country of origin: Venezuela

A boat carrying a passenger who had been bused from the U.S. to Tapachula, Mexico, alongside Venezuelan journalist Roberto Betancourt capsized on February 10, 2026, near Panama's Guna Yala archipelago, killing two Venezuelan women and one Colombian man. Many of the Venezuelans on the late-January deportation bus had been told by immigration agents that it would take them to Mexico City to board a plane to Caracas; when the bus instead continued to Tapachula, some attempted the dangerous route south through Central America and Panama to reach Colombia's northern coast.
Sources
Related incidents
- Guatemalan man dies in fiery crash fleeing ICE traffic stop in MichiganSep 23, 2026 · Grand Rapids, MI
- Diabetic Costa Rican father dies in ICE custody after complaints of missed insulinSep 23, 2026 · LA
- Ilhan Omar introduces bill to defund ICE after deadly Minneapolis operationSep 17, 2026 · Minneapolis, MN
- Haitian student dies by suicide after ICE forces him to wear ankle monitorSep 9, 2026 · Springfield, OH
- Salvadoran construction worker held on ICE detainer after DUI crash kills mother and daughterSep 5, 2026 · Montgomery County, MD
- Chinese national dies less than a day after entering ICE custody in SaipanSep 2, 2026 · Saipan, MP