Cuban migrant crisis in Costa Rica continues to worsen as Belize rejects transit proposal

December 9^th, 2015 (ICR News) Belize on Tuesday turned down a proposal by Costa Rica to fly thousands of Cuban migrants trapped in the country to Belize, from which point the migrants could continue their journey northwards to the United States.

A now-estimated 5,000 Cuban refugees are stranded in Costa Rica after Nicaragua decided in November to close its border to the refugees.

Last week, Guatemala also announced that it would not allow the Cubans to traverse its territory northward.

“[Belize] decided that it was not possible to meet Costa Rica’s request on the grounds that they believe the situation should only be dealt with through a regional framework, seeking regional solutions,” Costa Rica’s Foreign Minister, Manuel Gonzalez said, adding that he believes Belize’s decision is final.

Costa Rica’s plan was to fly the Cubans to Belize, from where they could continue their journey overland to the United States through Mexican soil.  According to Gonzalez, the Mexican government said it would permit the Cubans to traverse its territory by granting them 10 or 15-day visas, but only if the migrants arrived from a “third” country.

That “third” country would presumably be one of the two with which Mexico shares a land border to the south: Guatemala or Belize, neither of which now appear to be an option after Belize’s Tuesday announcement and Guatemala’s announcement last week.

Meanwhile, the Cuban migrant crisis in Costa Rica is only continuing to worsen, with an estimated 200 to 300 Cubans continuing to arrive in the country via Costa Rica’s southern border with Panama daily.

The arrivals continue despite the fact that Ecuador – the only country in Latin America that until recently did not require visas for Cubans arriving by air and where most Cuban refugees begin through journey through Latin America north to the US – imposed a visa requirement in late November on Cuban nationals to try to stem the flow.

Despite the new visa requirement however, Costa Rica’s Cuban migrant crisis may continue to worsen until a solution is found.  A Costa Rican official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter, told ICR News last week that there are estimates that as many as 60,000 Cuban refugees who arrived in Ecuador before the visa requirement may still be en route to the country as they continue their dangerous journey through Colombia and Panama.

Foreign Minister Gonzalez, for his part is imploring refugees en route to the US through Costa Rica or considering making the journey to abandon their plans, saying the arrival of more refugees could cause a “serious humanitarian crisis.”

“We already have 26 shelters and our capabilities are very limited and we will not be able to properly care for them.  Migration must stop for the welfare of [incoming refugees] and those already in Costa Rica,” Gonzalez said.

Cuban nationals receive preferential immigration status upon setting foot in the United States under the Cuban Adjustment Act, commonly known as the “wet foot, dry foot” policy.

However, warming relations between the United States and Cuba have led to fears on the island that the policy may come to an end, sparking an unprecedented wave of Cuban migration that hasn’t been seen in decades.