By MEGAN JANETSKY, MATÍAS DELACROIX and JOSHUA GOODMAN, Associated Press

MIRAMAR, Panama (AP) — Officials in Costa Rica and Panama are confiscating migrants’ passports and cellphones, denying them access to legal services and moving them between remote outposts as they wrestle with the logistics of a suddenly reversed migration flow.

The restrictions and lack of transparency are drawing criticism from human rights observers and generating increasingly testy responses from officials, who say their actions are aimed at protecting the migrants from human traffickers.

Both countries have received hundreds of deportees from various nations sent by the United States as President Donald Trump’s administration tries to accelerate deportations. At the same time, thousands of migrants shut out of the U.S. have started moving south through Central America – Panama recorded 2,200 so far in February.

“We’re a reflection of current United States immigration policy,” said Harold Villegas-Román, a political science professor and refugee expert at the University of Costa Rica. “There is no focus on human rights, there is only focus on control and security. Everything is very murky, and not transparent.”

Deportations and reversed migration

Earlier this month, the U.S. sent 299 deportees from mostly Asian countries to Panama. Those who were willing to return to their countries – about 150 to date — were put on planes with the assistance of United Nations agencies and paid for by the U.S.

Venezuelan migrant Luisleibis Navarro carries her son, as he waits to board a boat departing from Panama’s Caribbean coastal village of Miramar to the border with Colombia, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. Migrants are returning from southern Mexico after giving up on reaching the U.S., a reverse flow triggered by President Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Carlos Ruiz-Hernandez, Panama’s deputy foreign minister, said Thursday a small number are in contact with international organizations and the U.N. Refugee Agency as they weigh whether to seek asylum in Panama.

“None of them wants to stay in Panama. They want to go to the U.S.,” he said in a phone interview from Washington. “We cannot give them green cards, but we can get them back home and for a short period of time provide them with medical and psychological support as well as housing.”

Despite Trump’s threats to retake control of the Panama Canal, he said Panama had not acted under U.S. pressure. “This is in Panama’s national interest. We are a friend of the U.S. and want to work with them to send a signal of deterrence.”

Ruiz-Hernandez said some of the deportees remaining in Panama would be given the option of staying at a shelter originally set up to handle the large number of migrants moving north through the Darien Gap.

One Chinese deportee currently detained in the camp, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid repercussions, said she wasn’t given a choice.

Boats transporting migrants depart from the Caribbean coastal village of Miramar, Panama, for the Colombian border, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, as migrants return from southern Mexico after abandoning hopes of reaching the U.S. in a reverse flow triggered by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

She was deported to Panama without knowing where they were being sent, without signing deportation documents in the U.S. and without clarity of how long they would be there. She was among the deportees who were moved from a Panama City hotel where some held up signs to their windows asking for help to a remote camp in the Darien region.

Speaking to the AP over messages on a cellphone she kept hidden, she said authorities confiscated others’ phones and offered them no legal assistance. Others have said they’ve been unable to contact their lawyers.

“This deprived us of our legal process,” she said.

Panama President José Raúl Mulino, asked about the lack of access to legal services on Thursday, questioned the idea that migrants would even have lawyers.

“Doesn’t it seem like a coincidence that those poor people have lawyers in Panama?” Mulino said.

‘Black hole for deported migrants’

Costa Rica and Panama have so far denied press access to facilities where they are holding migrants. Panama had initially invited journalists to the Darien this week, but ultimately canceled the visit.

Migrants board a boat at the Caribbean coastal village of Miramar, Panama, bound for the Colombian border, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, as migrants return from southern Mexico after abandoning hopes of reaching the U.S. in a reverse flow triggered by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

“Panama cannot end up becoming a black hole for deported migrants,” said Juan Pappier, deputy director of Human Rights Watch in the Americas. “Migrants have the right to communicate with their families, to seek lawyers and Panama must guarantee transparency about the situation in which they find themselves.”

Costa Rica has faced similar criticisms from the country’s independent human rights entity, which has raised alarm over “failures” by authorities to guarantee proper conditions for deportees arriving. The Ombudsman’s Office, said that migrants were also stripped of their passports and other documents, and were not informed about what was happening or where they were going.

Isolation and confusion on the route south

Panama and Costa Rica, long transit countries for people migrating north, have scrambled to address the new flow of migrants going south and organize the flow.

Kimberlyn Pereira, a 27-year-old Venezuelan traveling with her husband and 4-year-old son was among them.

Pereira had waited months for an asylum appointment in Mexico after crossing the perilous Darien Gap dividing Colombia and Panama and traveling up through Central America. But after Trump took office and closed legal pathways to the U.S., she gave up and decided to go home, despite Venezuela’s ongoing crises.

But after a week of being held in a Costa Rican detention facility near the Panamanian border she expressed “hopelessness.”

Officials there had told them they would be flown to Cúcuta, a Colombian city near the Venezuelan border. But they were loaded onto buses and driven to this Panamanian port on the Caribbean sea.

“We do feel a little more protected. They’ve given us food. My only concern is the confusion. This ‘Come here, now go over there, get in this,’” she said.

While she and other migrants spoke to an AP journalist in a public place, Panamanian immigration authorities grew visibly upset and loaded nearly 200 migrants back on buses to drive them to a nearby building. When journalists attempted to follow them, immigration officials temporarily stopped on the side of the road in an attempt to keep them from following.

Panamanian authorities declined to comment on the incident, but after voicing press freedom concerns, the journalists were allowed to catch up to the migrants.

Before dawn Thursday, Pereira and other migrants boarded wooden boats that carried them to near the Colombia-Panama border where they planned to continue their journey. They paid up to $200 each for the ride.

“I don’t understand why they chase off journalists, why we’re so isolated if the government is supposedly helping,” she said.

Janetsky reported from Mexico City and Goodman from Miami.

By JULIA FRANKEL

JERUSALEM (AP) — Mourners in Israel on Friday were burying the remains of one of the final hostages released in the first phase of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, as negotiators discussed a second phase that could end the war in Gaza and see the remaining living captives returned home.

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The funeral procession for Tsachi Idan, an avid soccer fan who was 49 when he was abducted by Hamas, began at a Tel Aviv football stadium en route to the cemetery where he was to be buried in a private ceremony.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Idan, taken from Kibbutz Nahal Oz during the Hamas-led Oct. 7 2023 attack that sparked the war in Gaza, was killed in captivity.

His body was one of four released by Hamas early Thursday in exchange for over 600 Palestinian prisoners, the last planned swap of the ceasefire’s first phase, which began in January. Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada, and European Union.

Idan was the only one of his family taken to Gaza. His eldest daughter, Maayan, was killed as terrorists shot through the door of their saferoom. Hamas fighters broadcast themselves on Facebook live holding the Idan family hostage in their home, as his two younger children pleaded with them to let them go.

“My brother is the real hero. He held on,” Idan’s sister, Noam Idan ben Ezra, said in an interview on Israeli radio Friday. She said Idan had been “a pace away” from being released during a brief ceasefire in November 2023, when more than 100 of the 251 people abducted on Oct. 7 were released.

People attend a public memorial ceremony for slain hostage Tsachi Idan, a fan of Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C., who was killed in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. Hebrew: “Tsachi Idan – red in the soul.” (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

“Tsachi was forsaken twice. The first time when he was kidnapped from his home and the second time when the deal blew up,” she added. “The fact that Tsachi is not standing next to me today is the outcome of the decision-making and the policy here in Israel. They did not listen to us then, but it’s not too late to listen to us today.”

Concern for remaining hostages

With the first phase of the ceasefire deal set to end Saturday, relatives of hostages still held in Gaza are ramping up pressure on Netanyahu to secure the release of their loved ones.

According to Israel, 32 of the 59 hostages still in Gaza are dead, and there has been growing concern about the welfare of an unknown number who are still alive, particularly after three hostages released Feb. 8 appeared emaciated.

One of the three, Eli Sharabi, said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 Friday that he and other hostages had been held in iron chains, starved and sometimes beaten or humiliated.

“During the first three days, my hands are tied behind my back, my legs are tied, with ropes that tear into your flesh, and a bit of food, a bit of water during the day,” he said, in one of the first interviews by a hostage released under the current deal. “I remember not being able to fall asleep because of the pain, the ropes are already digging into your flesh, and every movement makes you want to scream.”

Sharabi found out after his release that his wife and daughters had been killed during the Oct. 7 attack.

The next phase of the ceasefire

Under the terms of the truce Israel and Hamas agreed to, Phase 2 of the ceasefire is to involve negotiations on ending the war that has devastated the Gaza Strip. That includes the return of all remaining living hostages and the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from the Palestinian territory. The return of the bodies of the remaining deceased hostages would occur in Phase 3.

Hamas said in a statement released Friday that it “reaffirms its full commitment to implementing all terms of the agreement in all its stages and details.” It called on the international community to pressure Israel to “immediately proceed to the second phase without any delay or evasion.”

Officials from Israel, Qatar and the United States have started “intensive discussions” on the ceasefire’s second phase in Cairo, Egypt‘s state information service said Thursday. Netanyahu’s office confirmed he had sent a delegation to Cairo. Israel has reportedly been seeking an extension of the first phase to secure the release of additional hostages.

“The mediators are also discussing ways to enhance the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, as part of efforts to alleviate the suffering of the population and support stability in the region,” said the statement from the prime minister’s office.

Israel’s negotiators will return home Friday night, said an Israeli official, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks. Negotiations are set to continue Saturday, the official said. But it was not clear if the Israeli team would travel back to Cairo to attend them.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday that the coming days are “critical,” and urged Israel and Hamas to fulfill their commitments.

The first phase of the ceasefire saw 33 hostages, including eight bodies, released in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Netanyahu has vowed to return all the hostages and destroy the military and governing capabilities of Hamas, which remains in control of Gaza. The Trump administration has endorsed both goals.

But it’s unclear how Israel would destroy Hamas without resuming the war, and Hamas is unlikely to release the remaining hostages — its main bargaining chips — without a lasting ceasefire. After suffering heavy losses in the war, the group has nonetheless emerged intact, and says it will not give up its weapons.

The ceasefire, brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, ended 15 months of war that erupted after Hamas’ 2023 attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people.

Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, who don’t differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths but say over half the dead have been women and children.

The fighting displaced an estimated 90% of Gaza’s population and decimated the territory’s infrastructure and health system.

Palestinians prepare for Ramadan amid destroyed homes

Palestinians who returned to destroyed homes in Gaza City started Friday to prepare for Ramadan, shopping for essential household goods and foods. Some say the Islamic holy month feels better than one spent last year, but still far from normal.

“The situation is very difficult for people and life is very hard. Most people — their homes have been destroyed. Some people can’t afford to shop for Ramadan, but our faith in God is great as he never forgets to bless people,” said Gaza City resident Nasser Shoueikh.

Ramadan is a holy Islamic month during which observant Muslims around the world practice the ritual of daily fasting from dawn to sunset. It’s often known for increased prayers, charity and spirituality as well as family gatherings enjoying different dishes and desserts during Iftar, when Muslims break their fasting, and Suhoor, the last meal before sunrise.

Associated Press writer Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv contributed.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

By ISABELLA O’MALLEY

NEW YORK (AP) — For years, Ed Yaker, treasurer of a New York City co-op with nearly 1,500 units, and fellow board members have dealt with gas leaks. It can mean the gas at an entire building is shut off, leaving residents unable to use a stove for months until expensive repairs are made to gas lines.

So Yaker was all in when he learned of a California startup called Copper that was manufacturing an electric stove and oven that could simply be plugged into a regular outlet. The sleek, standard four-burner electric induction stove runs on 120 volts, meaning there is no need to pay a licensed electrician thousands of dollars to rewire to 240 volts, which many electric stoves require.

“In terms of, ‘Is this the way to go?’ It’s a no brainer,” Yaker said, demonstrating a quart of water that boiled in about two minutes. His apartment is full of books, many on energy and climate change, and the energy efficiency was a motivation, too.

Then there are the health benefits of cooking with electricity. Gas stoves, which 47 million Americans use, release pollutants like nitrogen dioxide that has been linked to asthma and cancer-causing benzene.

“You wouldn’t stand over the tailpipe of a car breathing in the exhaust from that car. And yet nearly 50 million households stand over a gas stove, breathing the same pollutants in their homes,” said Rob Jackson, an environmental scientist at Stanford University and lead author on a study on pollution from gas cooking.

“I had a gas stove until I started this line of research. Watching pollutant levels rise almost immediately every time I turned a burner on, or my oven on, was enough to get me to switch” to an electric stove, he said.

Induction stoves are also a way to address the considerable amount of climate change that comes from buildings — emissions from cooking, heating and cooling living spaces and hot water.

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In the case of gas stoves, about half of the flame’s heat escapes into the room. Electric stoves by comparison can be up to 80% efficient. Of those, induction stoves come out on top with up to 90% efficiency in part because they only heat where the surface contacts the pot.

Just the presence of a gas stove in a home contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, even when it’s not turned on. Jackson’s team found gas stoves bleed methane — the main constituent of natural gas — when they’re off, from loose fittings and at connections between the stove and wall. The climate impact of leaky stoves in U.S. homes was estimated to be comparable to carbon emissions from 500,000 gasoline-powered cars.

The stove contains a battery that is smart, meaning it can charge up when electrical rates are low, allowing people to cook without incurring peak-rate electrical charges.

The new Copper stoves are not cheap. Early adopters are relying on government incentives to defray the cost. When Yaker, who worked as a teacher and was a saver, bought his, it was $6,000 and a federal tax credit for clean energy appliances brought that down to $4,200.

The manufacturer now has an agreement with the New York City Housing Authority to buy 10,000 stoves at a maximum price of $3,200 each, set to arrive in 2026.

Eden Housing, a nonprofit affordable housing developer, retrofitted a 32-apartment building in Martinez, California with Copper stoves using state and local programs, and hopes to purchase more.

“It’s pretty cool, it looks nice and it’s easy to clean,” said Jolene Cardoza, about the new appliance. Her adult daughter’s asthma was irritated by her old gas stove when she would come over to bake and she’s happy the Copper doesn’t release pollutants.

Other tenants found the transition to induction cooking more bumpy.

“I don’t really like the way it cooks my food in the oven,” said Monica Moore, who notices a difference in the texture of her cornbread. She is impressed with how quickly water boils, but misses cooking with a flame and said it was a hassle to switch out her pans with ones that are compatible with induction stoves.

For Jackson, though, the change is important.

“I think shutting the gas off to our homes and electrifying our homes is one of the best things that we can control individually to reduce our personal greenhouse gas emissions. I think of cars and homes as the two places to start for reducing our greenhouse gas footprint,” said Jackson.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

A Maplewood man was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Friday for murdering two women and dismembering their bodies in a span of two years.

Joseph Steven Jorgenson (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

Ramsey County District Judge Leonardo Castro gave Joseph Steven Jorgenson, 41, the maximum statutory sentence for the killings of Fanta Xayavong, 33, in Shoreview in 2021 and Manijeh “Mani” Starren, 33, in St. Paul in 2023.

“What you did cannot be explained,” Castro told Jorgenson. “What you did was pure evil.”

Jorgenson had been in relationships with both women.

Law enforcement found their remains at storage facilities in 2023: Starren in Woodbury and Xayavong in Coon Rapids.

The cases came to light after Starren’s father reported her missing from St. Paul in 2023. Law enforcement learned during their investigation that Xayavong hadn’t been seen since 2021.

The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office charged Jorgenson with Starren’s murder June 2023 and charged him with Xayavong’s murder on Jan. 2. He pleaded guilty to intentional murder of both women and agreed to two 40-year prison terms, to be served at the same time.

Manijeh “Mani” Starren, left, and Fanta Xayavong (Courtesy photos)

Based on state sentencing guidelines, a mid-range sentence would have been about 25½ years. The 40-year sentences are the statutory maximum for second-degree intentional murder and upward departures due to three aggravating factors in each case: that Jorgenson killed a romantic partner, that it happened in the victim’s home in each case, and that he dismembered the body in an attempt to hide what he’d done.

This is a breaking news story; check back for updates.

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