PANAMA CITY, Feb 23, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A boat carrying 19 South American migrants blocked from entering the United States sank off the coast of Panama as they returned to their home countries, leaving an 8-year-old Venezuelan girl dead, authorities said Saturday.

The boat went down Friday night "due to strong waves caused by bad weather" in Caribbean waters off northeast Panama, the country's Senafront border service said.

Aboard were migrants from Venezuela and Colombia, and two crew members. Aside from the girl who died, the others were all rescued, Senafront said.

"The event occurred in the context of the reverse migratory flow," the agency said.

The migrants were returning home from Mexico and Central American countries after giving up on trying to enter the United States amid President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal entries.

They were traveling by boat to avoid crossing Panama's treacherous Darien jungle, with dangers including fast-flowing rivers, wild animals and criminal gangs.

UN children's agency UNICEF expressed its "solidarity" with those affected by the incident, stressing in a statement "the importance of safety in transit through Panama."

On Friday, AFP witnessed several boats departing from a rudimentary dock at the port of Carti in northern Panama, with dozens of migrants onboard.

"What else were we going to do but return (home)?" a Venezuelan migrant said of the decision.

"We've been stranded for over 15 days, going round and round from Mexico to here (Panama) and scraping together money out of nowhere."

Senafront said the doomed boat was in a group of three bound for La Miel, a Panamanian town on the border with Colombia. Two suspended their trips due to bad weather, but one continued ahead.

"That decision led to the unfortunate incident," the border police said.

Since Trump took office on January 20, hundreds of South American migrants denied entry to the United States have begun the arduous journey back home, traveling in stages by foot, bus or boat and passing through shelters along the way.