Panama denies depriving 'freedom' to migrants deported by U.S.

Panama's government denied Tuesday that migrants deported by the United States who were seen holding up signs to hotel windows pleading for help were being held against their will.

Public Security Minister Frank Abrego said the migrants were not being "deprived of their freedom" while they await repatriation.

"They are in our custody for their protection," he said.

Police were seen guarding the Decapolis Hotel in Panama City, where women believed to be part of the group held up handwritten signs to journalists below saying "Please help us" and "We are not safe in our country."

According to Abrego, the group includes migrants from China, India, Iran and Vietnam.

Those who do not go home voluntarily would be transferred to a shelter in the Darien jungle, near the border with Colombia, while the International Organization for Migration and the UN refugee agency organize their relocation to another country, Abrego said.

"We're providing them with all the necessary medical care and comforts, and we will continue to do so until the last of them leaves our country, which is what was agreed with the United States government," he added.

Panama has complied "with all international regulations," Abrego said.

The minister appeared before the press after The New York Times reported that the migrants had their passports and most of their cellphones taken from them.

They were "locked in a hotel, barred from seeing lawyers and told they would soon be sent to a makeshift camp near the Panamanian jungle," the newspaper said.

At least one person at the hotel "tried to commit suicide," according to the newspaper, which said it had spoken to several people inside who identified themselves as asylum seekers and alleged that they were detained against their will.

On his first day in office last month, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency at the southern U.S. border and vowed to deport "millions and millions" of migrants.

During a recent Latin American tour by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Panama and Guatemala agreed to serve as a bridge for migrants of other nationalities deported by Trump's administration.

On Monday, Costa Rica also agreed to collaborate on such migrant repatriations.