SAN JOSÉ   -   Costa Rica announced Monday it would receive migrants from other countries who were deported by the United States, following in the footsteps of Panama and Guatemala. “The Government of Costa Rica agreed to collaborate with the United States in the repatriation of 200 illegal immigrants to their country,” the Costa Rican president’s office said in a statement, adding that “these are people originating from... Central Asia and India.” Costa Rica is the third country in Central America to collaborate on repatriating deported migrants from the United States since President Donald Trump assumed office in Washington on January 20.  The first set of deportees will arrive in Costa Rica on Wednesday aboard a commercial flight, according to the statement, whereupon they will be transported to a Temporary Migrant Care Center near the border with Panama.

The statement specified that “the process will be completely financed” by the US government under the supervision of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).  Panama and Guatemala had previously agreed to a similar arrangement when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited on a recent tour of Latin America.