The ordeal of those returning has been further highlighted a tragedy last Friday, when a boat carrying 21 migrants capsized in rough waters

Panama said on Tuesday that it's working to formalize a route long used to smuggle migrants on the way to the U.S., which is now being increasingly used to return migrants to South America in a reverse flow triggered by the Trump administration.

A boat carrying 19 migrants, part of a “reverse flow” of migrants who once hoped to reach the United States, capsized off Caribbean coast of Panama

The decision comes as a growing number of migrants give up on seeking asylum in the U.S., often after crossing the perilous jungles dividing Colombia and Panama.

Migrants from countries like Venezuela and Colombia, unwilling to once again risk their lives crossing the Darien, have paid boats to carry them back to South America along the Caribbean Sea pressing up against Panama