Just when there is a month to go until four years have passed since the 2018 socio-political crisis began in Nicaragua, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has reported that during the last eight months, the number of people fleeing from Managua to Costa Rica has doubled, totaling more than 150,000 displaced persons.
The figure is equivalent to 3% of the total population of Costa Rica, which has been for years the main destination for Nicaraguans, and also one of the main countries from which remittances are sent.
The increase in the number of refugee applicants also coincides with the beginning of the arrests against the more than 40 opponents in Nicaragua, including the seven presidential candidates who intended to dispute the power of Daniel Ortega, accused of repressing opponents and their critics.
In fact, UNHCR interprets that the increase in asylum applications is a consequence “of important sociopolitical events; among them, the presidential elections that took place in November”, in which it was re-elected Ortega.
A point that UNHCR highlights is that although Costa Rica has been one of the main destinations for Nicaraguans for refugee applications, in the first two months of 2022, the number of asylum applications from Nicaragua that arrived in Mexico is equivalent to almost a third of the asylum applications filed by Nicaraguans a year ago.
UNHCR asks for support as it is focused on Ukraine
On the other hand, the UNHCR offices have requested support from the international community to continue providing aid to refugee seekers.
“The UN agency supports the Costa Rican government and host communities with registration, legal assistance, cash aid, donations of cleaning and hygiene kits, and the distribution of food and mattresses for refugees and applicants. of asylum,” reads the statement.
Finally, it indicates that the Russian offensive in Ukraine monopolizes world attention, but UNHCR stressed the importance of remembering other situations of displacement in different parts of the world and urged the international community to continue supporting its efforts in Costa Rica and other countries that host people from Nicaragua.
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