Following the ‘Exportations’

On a Wednesday in February, rain fell on a C-17 Air Force jet at the Marine Corps base in Miramar, north of San Diego. Officials marched 119 shackled migrants aboard. Just before 1pm, the jet took off, aiming for the equator. The Trump administration would not publicly acknowledge the flight for five days. But as the plane flew south, reporters at the New York Times began work on a story. In Washington, DC, Hamed Aleaziz, the Times’ immigration and Department of Homeland Security reporter, received a tip that a massive military plane was taking migrants—from countries in Asia, Africa, and all over the world—to Panama. In Bogotá, Colombia, Julie Turkewitz, the Andes bureau chief, and Federico Rios, a photographer, began looking at flights to Panama City. In Mexico City, Annie Correal, a Latin America reporter, reached out to her contacts in the Panamanian government.