President Solis Assures Cubans Of Costa Rica’s Support To Reach US

President Solis Assures Cubans Of Costa Rica's Support To Reach US / EFE
– 14ymedio
Posted on November 27, 2015

EFE (published in 14ymedio), San Jose, Costa Rica, 26 November 2015 —
The president Luis Guillermo Solis of Costa Rica, on Wednesday,
guaranteed the thousands of Cuban migrants who have been stranded in his
country since 14 November that his government will make every effort to
help them reach the United States, their final destination. "We will do
whatever is necessary for you people to get to your destination and
while you are here to live with dignity," said the president at a press
conference in San Jose.

Solis said that, following Nicaragua's opposition to allowing the
islanders to pass through that country, Costa Rica is making bilateral
contacts with other countries involved in the migratory path of these
people, to find a solution.

The solution is to "establish routes that allow them to continue their
journey. The conditions, time and number are details that we are
refining, but in this situation it is clear that we will not have the
cooperation of Nicaragua and therefore we must take other measures under
consideration."

President Solis said that Costa Rica will not abandon the Cuban
immigrants, but warned that their trip to the United States will be a
process that will take time.

"In Costa Rica we will facilitate their travel and this entails a great
effort not only to conclude the final negotiations with each country,
many of whom will announce measures in the coming days, but also to
guarantee, as long as they are in our territory, that they are living in
adequate conditions," he said.

Solis's involvement in the case of Cuban migrants even led to an
exchange views with the Cuban singer Silvio Rodriguez through the
artist's blog. The Costa Rican president left a comment on a post in
which the singer demanded solutions for the migrants and criticized
Solis for advocating a humanitarian corridor to the United States only
for the Cubans and not for other Latin American, knowing that "there is
a special law that favors the arrival of our people with dry feet."

Solis Rodriguez said that it is most urgent is to find solutions for
those at the border who are not at fault. The president also added that
Nicaragua and Costa Rica would be wrong to "insinuate the situation of
the migrants into geopolitics."

Costa Rican Minister of Communications Mauricio Herrera Ulloa also
responded to the musician, saying that his government's request is "more
than politics, it is humanitarian."

The troubadour thanked the minister for his comments and acknowledged
having written his post without all the information and out of concern
for his compatriots. But then, Rodriguez added: "In addition to the best
intentions of the Government in which you are a minister, there is
constant propaganda against my country."

Meeting in El Salvador on Tuesday, the foreign ministers of the
countries of Central America, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico,
Ecuador and Colombia sought a solution to the current crisis and also a
long-term solution to Cuban emigration.

However, Nicaragua was adamant in not allowing the entry of Cubans to
its territory, and accused Costa Rica of causing a humanitarian crisis
by "ignoring the responsibility of the United States in the issue of
illegal migration" and demanded that the immigrants be withdrawn from
the border area.

As of 14 November, Costa Rica has granted temporary transit visas to
3,600 Cubans who arrived at its border with Panama, and has set up 12
shelters to provide humanitarian aid in communities near the border with
Nicaragua.

President Solis also said that resolving the crisis will require
"slowing down" the flow of Cubans into Costa Rica from Panama.

On Tuesday the Costa Rican Foreign Minister Manuel Gonzalez accused
Nicaragua of being "intransigent" and acting in "bad faith" in this
matter and said the region intends to find a solution.

The immigrants left Cuba legally by air and flew to Ecuador, which does
not require them to have a visa, and from there they traveled
"irregularly" through Colombia and Panama to Costa Rica.

The Costa Rican government has attributed this migratory wave to the
dismantling of a human trafficking network and the rumor on the island
that the United States is going to repeal its immigration laws that
favor Cubans.

Source: President Solis Assures Cubans Of Costa Rica's Support To Reach
US / EFE – 14ymedio | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/president-solis-assures-cubans-of-costa-ricas-support-to-reach-us-efe-14ymedio/