500 Foreigners Rejected
At Northern Border With
Nicaragua During First
Two Days
The rejection of
foreigners at the Peñas
Blancas land border
crossing coming from
Nicaragua illegally has
so amount to 500 in the
first two days of the
year.
The Ministra de
Seguridad, Jeanina del
Vecchio has personally
met with Nicaraguan
authorities at Peñas
Blancas to co-ordinate
the return of thousands
of Nicaraguans who are
legal residents of Costa
Rica, return home after
visiting family and
friends.
The entry of illegals at
Peñas Blancas is an
annual occurrence, as
thousands accompany
their friends and
relatives back to Costa
Rica in search for work,
many decide to come
illegally for lack of
resources or time to
obtain travel documents.
The situation is
expected to get worse
today (Saturday) and
Sunday as Nicaraguans
head back for Costa Rica
to return to work on
Monday.
Working together are the
Fuerza Pública (police),
the Policía de Migración
(immigration police),
Control de Drogas (drug
enforcement police) and
the Unidad de
Intervención Policial (UIP
- a type of SWAT team
force).
The objective of
authorities is not only
to detect and reject
illegals, but also to
curb "coyotage" (the
illegal trafficking of
people).
As many as 70.000
Nicaraguans headed north
during the Christmas
holidays. Costa Ricans
authorities had to
double their efforts to
maintain control of the
border and the
surrounding area where
as many as 100.000 are
expected to enter Costa
Rica within the first
couple of weeks of the
new year. |
