The Panamanian cargo transporter Dayan Castillo denounced through social networks the lack of agility on the part of the customs authorities of Nicaragua and Costa Rica at the Peñas Blancas border point, which causes gigantic lines of up to 25 kilometers with his trucks, which last up to three days.
Castillo directly calls on the dictator Daniel Ortega and the customs authorities to take action on the matter because, as he says, when they are standing in lines for the immigration crossing, they are victims of criminals who strip the drivers of their personal belongings, who, being outdoors, are easy prey for these criminals.
«This situation that is experienced month after month, week after week and day after day on this border of Peñas Blancas and that forces us to remain in this very poor situation, in the open between the two borders and they do not allow us to move forward, we need Please take action on the matter,” says the transporter in a video broadcast through the TikTok platform.
According to Castillo, the lines last up to three days waiting for their turn to cross customs and heavy cargo drivers do not have access to comfortable places to sleep, nor do they have bathrooms to carry out their basic needs in a dignified manner.
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The line of about 25 kilometers goes from the Peñas Blancas border to the Santa Cecilia community, in Tico territory. “We have colleagues who have been in this line for more than three days (…) no one echoes this situation that we, not only Panamanian carriers, but all of Central America, experience every day,” says the Panamanian driver.
Nicaragua’s lines are the longest in the region
The information provided by Castillo is confirmed by a Honduran transporter who prefers anonymity and who affirms that the slow progress of cargo transportation in Nicaragua occurs despite the fact that the country’s southern border has four modules; However, only one is available due to lack of workers, which, added to the weighing process on the scale and the payment of the quarantine tax, slows down the process for each truck, which in turn generates traffic jams on the highway.
«At the Guasaule border in Honduras the process is slow but lasts about five minutes if it is extended it is due to the payment of the quarantine tax, in Paso Canoas of Costa Rica and Panama as well, but no border is like that of Peñas Blancas, there I have spent up to two days standing in lines,” says the Honduran.
For transporters, the solution would be for the Costa Rican and Nicaraguan authorities to be available 24 hours a day to carry out customs procedures, and to increase the number of agents so that all modules are operational. “If Nicaragua and Costa Rica worked the other 24 borders like the rest of the Central American borders, those lines would disappear, but until today those lines of up to 25 kilometers remain,” he says.
El Salvador has seven modules
According to the carrier, the border point to enter El Salvador is the most efficient. «It’s always clean there. “There are no such lines,” says the Honduran driver.
He explained that Nayib Bukele’s government has seven modules customs clearance enabled and available 24 hours a day, making it the only country where there are no lines. The Salvadoran authorities coordinated with Honduras to have their immigration and customs agents together in the same office to avoid traffic jams on both sides of their borders.
Transporters who are victims of crime
Both transporters also denounced that they are victims of crime and affirm that in recent years the scourge has increased. They also denounce that there is no police presence in the line, which is why they are exposed.
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“Crime is horrible, a few days ago a colleague was assaulted and beaten to such an extent that he had to be taken to the hospital,” says Castillo.
For his part, the Honduran driver states that not only do they steal personal belongings, but at night, the criminals take parts from the heavy truck, such as tire plugs and license plates, to later sell them on the black market as scrap metal.
Trade from the countries of the so-called Central American Pacific Corridor passes through the border control post in Peñas Blancas, from Panama to Guatemala. According to the transporters, about 1,500 trucks pass through this international checkpoint every day; However, the line reaches up to a thousand trucks. 90 percent of Central American trade passes through these borders.
