Central American Discontent Sparked by “First Class” Cuban Migrants

Central American Discontent Sparked by "First Class" Cuban Migrants /
14ymedio
Posted on January 1, 2016

14ymedio (with information from agencies), Mexico, 31 December 2015 –
The crisis of Cubans stranded in Central America on their way to the
United States, has exposed weaknesses in regional integration and caused
a certain discontent in the isthmus with regard to the privileges US
laws award to Cubans, as opposed to other migrants.

The fact that Cubans who touch US soil can legally stay in the country,
thanks to the Cuban Adjustment Act in effect since 1966, contrasts with
the reality of the thousands of Guatemalans, Hondurans and Salvadorans
who leave for the north every month, amid the uncertainty about whether
they will arrive and, if they manage to do so, if they will be allowed
to stay and for how long.

The situation was highlighted by the arrival of more than 8,000 Cuban
emigrants in Costa Rica, which they have not been able to leave since 15
November when Nicaragua closed its border, citing reasons of security.

The phenomenon is linked to the reestablishment of relations, in
December of 2014, between Washington and Havana, which led many to think
that sooner rather than later the "wet foot/dry foot" policy that
benefits the island's migrants would be repealed. The policy was enacted
at a time when the Castro government prevented the free exit and entry
of Cubans from and to their own country.

Managua's decision to close its border to Cubans coming from Costa Rica
also triggered a political crisis in the isthmus due to differences
arising within the Central American Integration System (SICA) with
regards to how to solve the situation.

The president of Costa Rica, Luis Guillermo Solis, suspended his
country's participation in SICA's political roundtable on 18 December,
citing his disappointment and frustration with the position of Guatemala
and Belize, which share land borders with Mexico, to block the passage
of Cubans heading north.

On Monday, Guatemala, the SICA countries and Mexico reached an agreement
for an early January "humanitarian transfer" of 50 Cubans stranded in
Costa Rica, who will travel by air to El Salvador, from where they will
continue by land to Mexico.

Panama said on Wednesday that it is negotiating with its neighbors so
that the 1,000 Cubans stranded in its territory can also follow any
route on their way to the "American dream."

This free arrival of Cubans into the United States contrasts with the
intentions of the US government toward hundreds of families, children
and young people who entered the country illegally starting in 2014.
According to a report in last week's Washington Post, sources close to
the operation said that a series of raids would be carried out to deport
these immigrants, also starting in the first days of January.

In a statement picked up by Reuters, the government of Guatemala
expressed "deep concern" about the plans and said it would be attentive
"to whether the operations were carried out under strict rules of
respect, professionalism and ethics."

El Salvador also lamented the operation in a statement over the weekend,
in which it warned that the measure does not provide a substantive
response to the fundamental immigration problem in the region.

The government of Honduras, meanwhile, said it was not officially aware
of the US plans.

In an interview with EFE, Nils Castro, former Panamanian ambassador to
Mexico and Belize and one of the founders of the Panamanian
Revolutionary Democratic Party, close to the Castro regime, said, "The
small crisis of Cuban migrants has uncovered several things," including
"the weakness of SICA as system of integration. "

"At the very least, there are double standards: first class and second
class migrants," Nils Castro affirmed, comparing the situations of Cuban
and Central American emigrants.

Thanks to the United States' "wet foot/dry foot" policy, he argues,
"Cubans go with God's blessing and no one doubts they will be able to
enter and settle in the United States." But Central Americans,
especially Guatemalans, Salvadorans and Hondurans, "travel with risk"
and the uncertainty about "whether they will be able to cross the
border, and if they do cross it, whether they will be able to stay,"
stressed the Panamanian diplomat.

The economies of the three Central American countries are plagued by
high poverty rates and gang related violence and drug trafficking,
relying heavily on remittances sent by their nationals in the United
States to family members in their native countries.

This context explains the position of Guatemala whose president,
Alejandro Maldonado, asked on 22 December for the suspension of the
Cuban Adjustment Act, which benefits a few, or, alternatively, extending
the Act "to all." Among other reasons, the president argued that the
provisions of the Act are a "stimulus" for Cubans to emigrate.

The Guatemalan Government, says Nils Castro, "expressed a widespread
feeling in Central America. All Central American migrants are treated
with extreme harshness in Mexico and also in the United States."

He explained that the figure of more than 9,000 Cubans now stranded in
Costa Rica and Panama "pales" against the number of Guatemalans,
Hondurans and Salvadorans deported from Mexico and the United States: as
of the first week of December, some 65,749 undocumented Hondurans were
deported from Mexico and the United States, according to the Government
of Honduras, while Guatemala cited a figure of at least 92,284 nationals
deported from the two countries between January and November.

"In recent years, Mexico is harshly deporting Central American migrants.
In the fiscal year just ended, Mexico deported more Central Americans
than the United States did," he said.

For his part, the former Ambassador of Panama to the Organization of
American States (OAS), Guillermo Cochez, told EFE that the problem of
Cuban migrants continues and "must be addressed at the United Nations."

"I think the authorities of Central America and the United Nations
should cooperate in this matter," said Cochez, who applauded Panama's
policy of allowing Cubans to transit through its territory.

Source: Central American Discontent Sparked by "First Class" Cuban
Migrants / 14ymedio | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/central-american-discontent-sparked-by-first-class-cuban-migrants-14ymedio/