Cuban migrants in Central America create diplomatic crisis (Nov. 16, 2015)

Cubans making their way across Central America with hopes of arriving in the U.S. where they could be granted asylum are creating a diplomatic crisis in Central America.

Yesterday, Nicaragua closed its border with Costa Rica to Cuban migrants, reports Reuters.  Nicaraguan security forces turned back hundreds of Cubans who they say had crossed into the country illegally -- reportedly using tear gas and shots to turn them back, reports the Tico Times. One witness says a child and two women were injured in the encounter, though the Foreign Ministry couldn't confirm the report.

The surge comes as Cubans fear that reestablished diplomatic relations between the two countries will end longstanding U.S. asylum rights for those who manage to make it across the border. (See Nov. 2nd's post.)

Nicaragua's government accused Costa Rica of sparking a "humanitarian crisis" after its southern neighbor issued transit visas over the weekend to more than 1,000 Cubans who had been detained at its border with Panama demanding the right to proceed. On Saturday, Costa Rica began issuing temporary transit visas to Cuban migrants at Paso Canoas, valid for seven days. Some estimate there are 2,000 Cubans in Costa Rica waiting to cross through Nicaragua on their way north.

The transit path involved flying to Ecuador, crossing by land to Colombia, and boat to Panama, and they intend to continue towards the U.S. by land, reports El Nuevo Heraldo.

Nicaraguan First Lady and government spokesperson Rosario Murillo called on international organizations to deal with the issue, saying Costa Rica's actions had violated its national sovereignty. Nicaragua, which is governed by former Marxist guerrilla Daniel Ortega, is a close ally of Cuba, reports Reuters.

The Costa Rican foreign minister, Manuel González, criticized Nicaraguan officials for using the military to stop the migrants, reports the Associated Press. He also rejected Nicaraguan accusations that the Costa Rican government was goading Cubans to cross en masse. The Cuban migrants "are going to look for any way to cross and it will drive them right back into the clutches of organized crime," said González, according to the Tico Times.

Last week El Nuevo Herald reported that the Costa Rican branch of a Cuban human smuggling ring -- with contacts in Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala and the U.S. -- was broken up. Costa Rican officials say the network charged $400 to smuggle Cubans through Costa Rica, and laments that desperation to reach the U.S. before potential policy changes is fueling human trafficking networks.
According to the Tico Times, Cubans have been able to pass through Central America in increasing numbers and relatively without issue during the last several years, but last weeks crackdown on smuggling networks contributed to the thousands of undocumented migrants gathering at border crossing checkpoints and sparked the crisis.

According to Costa Rican officials, only 50 undocumented Cuban migrants entered the country in 2011, a number that increased to over 12,000 in the first nine months of this year.

News Briefs

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