The number of Cubans on the US-Mexico border increased by the end of 2021 from 862 in August to 7,893 in December, according to the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA).
The Cuban government blames the increase in the irregular migratory flow of its citizens to Washington, on economic sanctions and non-compliance with bilateral migratory agreements, which establish the delivery of 20,000 annual visas.
But, according to analysts, the increase in recent times is also due to the economic crisis affecting Cuba, the result of the combination of the pandemic, the tightening of US sanctions and failures in the national economic policy. This has generated a wave of protest on the island, the largest was carried out on July 11.
Cuba and Mexico have maintained uninterrupted diplomatic relations for 117 years, although with ups and downs, especially during the term of right-wing Vicente Fox (2000-2006).
The subsequent return of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to the Presidency, led by Enrique Peña Nieto, improved ties, and with the arrival of López Obrador to power they have taken on a new impetus.
