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Another door slams shut for Cuban migrants stranded in Costa Rica; airlift under consideration

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December 4th, 2015 (ICR News) Guatemala on Thursday announced that it would not allow the now estimated 4,000 Cuban migrants stranded in Costa Rica to traverse its territory on their way to the United States.

 

The announcement only further complicates the situation for the thousands of migrants that have been stranded in Costa Rica since Nicaragua closed its border to the Cubans on November 15th.

 

The Guatemalan government said the decision was made that the Cuban migrants should not receive “special treatment” not offered to other migrants from Central America attempting to make their way to the United States, despite the fact that Cuban nationals receive preferential immigration status upon arriving in the United States under the Cuban Adjustment Act, commonly known as the “wet foot, dry foot” policy.

 

The decision may further reinforce the idea of an “air bridge” being considered by the Costa Rican government, in which the migrants may actually be flown from Costa Rica to Mexico or Belize in order to continue their trip to the United States.  Costa Rica president Luis Guillermo Solis hinted at the idea during an interview with a Miami radio station on Wednesday, prior to Thursday’s announcement by Guatemala.

 

It is not clear who would pay for such an airlift, however.

 

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  • zippy

    And may I ask… Where this corridor ends? In the pockets of American taxpayers?

  • prdatki

    Send them back to Cuba, and stay there!

  • Ken Morris

    So now it’s not only mean old anti-humanitarian Nicaragua that isn’t kowtowing to Costa Rica’s state-sponsored human trafficking scheme, but also Guatemala. Actually, from what I read elsewhere, neither Mexico nor Belize are especially keen on becoming transit countries either.

    Tico leadership has only itself to blame for this mess. Before it violated its own laws as well as those of international conventions, it should have at least made a few phone calls to find out whether other countries would go along with their scheme.

    The amazing part is how the Ticos have spun their blunder into a narrative of how they are the humanitarian good guys while Nicaragua especially is an anti-humanitarian monster.

    Ticos need to eat some crow on this one, and while they do, someone might point out that Costa Rica has decided not to accept the real refugees from Syria only to posture as humanitarians by hoping to allow some economic refugees from Cuba pass through the country.

    This is Costa Rica at its hypocritical worst.

  • Roberto

    DonaldTrump may offer his jet to ship them back to Cuba. Marco Rubo wants to send a cruise ship to CR to pick them up and then head for Miami before the primary in Florida.

  • disgusted

    4,000 plus Cubans here in CR. I guess if they could just be shipped back to Cuba by sea what 100 miles. CR might as well cut their losses on this. How much per day does it cost CR to feed and house them? Problem might be Cuba does not want them back or they do not want to go back either. Another thing the USA should have done a long time ago was repeal the 1966 refugee status for Cuba. USA needs to wise up.

    • Roberto

      Within a week, the hostels of the National Emergency Commission (CNE) serving thousands of Cubans went from 16 to 24. The cost of care by the State is ¢ 121 million colones, according to the CNE confirmed Thursday.
      $230,000 USD
      The plan is that migrants do not lack shelter, food and health. They are stranded in the country since Nov. 15, when Nicaragua decided to close the border and stop them from entering their country.

  • Sam

    Obama loves people with no legal documents. Last nights speech highlights.
    1- Gun control
    2- Be nice to Muslims
    3- Absolutely no change in his strategy to destroy ISIS
    4- Hypocritically reminding us about American ideals

  • Yeims

    Assumptions are always causing these kinds of things. They should have never assumed things would stay the same, with Nicaragua at first allowing them to pass through.

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