The Guatemalan National Civil Police (PNC) detained this Wednesday eight coyotes who were transporting 47 Cubans, including three minors, and four Ecuadorians along a highway in the village of Los Cerritos, located in the Izabal region. According to the agency, the migrants entered the country irregularly.
The Cubans were detained because they did not present “the consulted type C visa nor did they have a valid passport,” requirements that are necessary to enter Guatemala, they told 14ymedio at the PNC office. “In addition, a covid-19 PCR test or a complete vaccination certificate is still required.”
The 51 migrants were given food and necessary assistance, and then they were taken to the Guatemalan Migration Institute for the corresponding procedures. The Guatemalan law establishes the payment of between 25 dollars (200 quetzales) and 88 dollars (700 quetzales) for the evasion of an immigration control, and less than 13 dollars for those who transport undocumented immigrants.
The detainees were identified as Esvin Geovany Moro, 21 years old; Luis Armando Pérez, 30; Edwin Estuardo Rosado Mendoza, 42; Gustavo Romero Ramos, 33; Berlyn Suyapa Ramírez Ramos, 22; Auner Arody Reyes Ramos, 28; Michael Oliver Menjívar Cerna, 28, and Ever Alfredo López Pineda, 38. All are accused of “irregularly transferring migrants.”
Due to its geographical position, Guatemala is a natural passageway for thousands of migrants from Central and South America and Caribbean countries seeking to reach US territory. According to data from the National Civil Police, from January 1 to June 9 of this year 5,757 people of 43 different nationalities. Of them 643 were Cuban.
The Izabal police department reported that so far this year it has sent 697 people of different nationalities to the provincial Immigration headquarters and 52 to Guatemala City.
This Tuesday, a court in Belize dismissed the case filed on behalf of the seven Cubans who entered the country illegally and ordered that the authorities implement the expulsion order as soon as possible.
The Cubans were imprisoned in the Central Prison of Belize and were initially released after the Belize Human Rights Commission filed a civil suit.
The group arrived in Belize last February with two children and claimed to seek asylum. The adults were detained and the minors placed in the care of the Department of Human Services.
In March, Supreme Court Judge Patricia Farnese ruled that the Cubans should be released after human rights filed a civil lawsuit against the Superintendent of Prisons, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Immigration, and the Attorney General.
The lawsuit alleged that the Cubans’ constitutional rights had been violated because of the length of their detention and because the authorities did not tell them what crimes they had committed in a language they could understand. In the latest court ruling, Judge Lisa Shoman found that the accusations made on behalf of the seven Cubans had no legal basis.
________________________
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.
