Political Report # 1116
Washington and the Cuban Migratory Crisis
By Salim Lamrani
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United States legislation promotes emigration from the island, but for nearly a month now, thousands of Cubans attempting to travel to the United States have been blocked in Costa Rica.
Nearly 6,000 Cubans wishing to emigrate to the United States, are stuck in Costa Rica, where they have been denied the opportunity of continuing their journey north. After arriving in Ecuador, the only Latin American country that does not require Cubans to obtain entry visas, they undertook a long journey across the continent, in order to arrive mainly in Miami. But their passage was brought to a standstill in Costa Rica. Indeed, central American countries, from Nicaragua to Mexico, refuse to permit the migrants, their numbers often riddled with members of criminal networks, to pass through their territory and are asking Washington, the entity primarily responsible for this situation, for a policy response.(1)
Indeed, Cubans who enter the United States illegally are welcomed with open arms, while illegal immigrants from other nations are immediately arrested and deported to their countries of origin. This selectivity results from the United States's historical commitment to the use of migration as a weapon to undermine the Cuban Revolution.(2) |
