Guatemalan immigration authorities have rejected the entry into the country of 56 Cubans in the last three days. According to data provided by the National Civil Police (PNC), the migrants did not have the consulted type C visa, one of the requirements for entry into Guatemalan territory, nor did they present a vaccination certificate against covid-19.
Last week, the Government of Honduras alerted the Guatemalan Migration Institute about the advance of various groups of Cubans and Venezuelans towards the border between the two countries. Given these caravans, the administration of President Alejandro Giammattei ordered the implementation of a control and registration operation in the border area.
According to a Migration statement, it was necessary to prevent the entry, through the customs of the border towns of Agua Caliente and El Corizo, of 56 Cubans, along with whom were traveling 289 Venezuelans, 89 Hondurans, 12 Haitians, 10 Ecuadorians, eight Dominicans, six Colombians and five Cameroonians.
“The migratory operation will continue to run At the border posts with Honduras, there is the support of the National Civil Police, the Ministry of Defense, the Attorney General’s Office, among other institutions,” the authorities warned.
Official calculations state that at least 11,000 people have been expelled this year to Honduras, after illegally entering Guatemala from this country. Included in this figure are 400 Cubans, of whom 374 are in shelters, waiting to continue their journey to the United States.
Official calculations indicate that at least 11,000 people have been expelled this year to Honduras, after illegally entering Guatemala from this country.
Guatemala is a natural passageway for thousands of migrants seeking to reach US territory. According to data from the National Civil Police, 5,757 people of 43 different nationalities legally entered its borders from January 1 to June 9 of this year. Of them, 643 were Cuban.
The point of origin of this flow of migrants is Nicaragua. Since November of last year, Managua became the escape springboard for Cubans, after the Government of Daniel Ortega announced that it would stop requiring visas.
The route is also particularly dangerous, even if you avoid the Darien jungle. Cubans are exposed to corruption and coyotes, and are victims of all kinds of robberies, scams, arrests and other dangers, including physical ones. From Nicaragua it continues to Honduras, advancing through Guatemala and Mexico until reaching the US border.
The Guatemalan law establishes a payment between 25 and 88 dollars (from 200 to 700 quetzales) for the evasion of an immigration control, and less than 13 dollars for those who transport undocumented immigrants.
________________________
Collaborate with our work:
The team of 14ymedio is committed to doing serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for joining us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time becoming a member of our journal. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
