A group of 25 Dominicans denounced this Monday through social networks having been detained for more than 72 hours in the La Aurora International Airport of Guatemala, while the immigration authorities assure that all were inadmissible for various reasons and it depends on their airline when they will be repatriated to the Dominican Republic.
“They have us here without food, without sleep and without bathing,” denounced a Dominican woman on Twitter. She and at least 24 other Dominicans have been stranded at the airport since last Friday.
The Dominicans are sleeping on mattresses thrown on the floor in a corridor of the air terminal with the uncertainty of not knowing when they will be repatriated and during the video of the complaint they showed that during this time they have only fed themselves with bread and juice.
The Travellers They entered the country by means of a flight of the low-cost airline Arajet from the Dominican Republic, on November 18.
“I hope that the Dominican Republic does something, that they let me in or that they return me to my country,” exclaimed the woman who denounced the migratory limbo living in Guatemala with annoyance.
For its part, the Guatemalan Institute of Migration (IGM) reported that Dominicans were not accepted for entry for various reasons.
One of them has a valid arrest warrant in his country, two have a criminal record and the rest of the people “did not meet the requirements established due to inconsistencies during the interview,” the immigration authorities said in a statement.
In their public complaint, the Dominicans mention that they fear being stranded at the airport for many days, because they have not yet been notified when they will be repatriated.
The IGM assured EFE that it is the responsibility of the airline to schedule the flight of the unadmitted people and explained that a group of this flight did manage to enter the country, but they did not specify how many.
During 2022, Guatemala has not admitted the entry of 1,030 Dominicans, representing 40% of the 2,629 foreigners who were rejected at the customs of the Central American country