Meeting on Cuban Migrant Crisis Ends without Results
HAVANA TIMES — A meeting of immigration officials from the countries of the Central American Integration System (SICA) and other countries in the Mesoamerican region ended in Mexico today without concrete results to resolve the crisis caused by several thousand Cuban migrants stranded in the isthmus, reported dpa news.
The Costa Rican Foreign Ministry issued a statement announcing the failure of the meeting to find a solution to the crisis of the 6,000+ Cuban migrants stuck in that country after Nicaragua closed its border to them in mid-November. Later, Guatemala and Belize also refused to be part of any humanitarian corridor proposal.
At the meeting today, a US official noted that country’s immigration laws prevent the possibility of an airlift to the US for the wave of Cubans. This, because the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 states they must access US territory by land to obtain the special benefits of the law, including government assistance and a fast track to permanent residency.
“Unfortunately, Guatemala’s position was similar to that expressed at the SICA meeting (held in El Salvador on Friday),” said the disappointed Costa Rican Foreign Ministry.
A new meeting to address the situation was tentatively set for Monday, December 28, either in Guatemala or Guadalajara, Mexico.
That’s not true. These stranded Cubans were issued transit vísas to enter Costa Rica en route to the US. A process, by the way, tens of thousands of Cubans before them has successfully engaged.
Costa Rica should send them crack because they are in that country ILLEGALLY!
Ouch! Who should ‘send them back’ to Cuba?
Tough s–t for the Cubans. Let them experience what migrants from other countries go thru when they are sent back.
Who should send them? How do you do that? By what law? They are in Costa Rica legally. Who should pay to send them to Cuba? Do you realize that most of these Cubans have nothing to return to once they arrive in Cuba? They likely sold everything they owned to pay for the journey to the US. Your empty comment fails to solve the problem.
There will be no progress as long as the Cuban Adjustment Act exists. Send those 6000 migrants back to Cuba and treat them as you would migrants from other countries which are way worse than Cuba
Where’s all that Bolivarian solidarity when you need it? The one millionth Syrian refugee just arrived in Europe. We are only talking about a few thousand Cubans. Shame on you Latin America. Shame on you Cuba, most of all.