Cuban migrants now have clearer path to US

Nicaragua eliminates visa requirements

A new shortcut has opened up for Cuban migrants to reach the U.S. after Nicaragua lifted visa requirements for citizens of the communist island.

From this week, Cubans will be able to travel freely to the Central America nation, according to a statement dated Nov. 22 published on a government website.

That will lop thousands of miles off their journey, and allow them to avoid the dangerous jungle that connects Colombia to Panama, known as the Darien Gap. The measure is intended to boost trade, tourism and family ties, the Nicaraguan government said.

COVID-19 and tightening U.S. sanctions have ravaged the Caribbean island, contributing this year to rare displays of dissent against its communist rulers and a fresh wave of emigration. Strict visa requirements across the region mean that many Cubans have to contract people smugglers and start their journey deep within South America.

Cubans would often try to get to any South American nation that would let them in without a visa, then travel overland to Colombia. From there, they traverse Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico to get to the U.S.

Now migrants will be able to skip the first four or five countries.

In the year through September, about 39,000 Cubans were apprehended trying cross into the U.S. from Mexico, according to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. That’s nearly triple the number from the previous 12 month period.

Sebastian Arcos, the associate director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University, said Nicaragua may offer a helping hand to its Cuban ally, as the Caribbean island has been gripped by protests and growing social discontent.

“The Cuban regime is feeling a lot of pressure from below and they need an escape valve and Nicaragua may be offering that — a way for Cubans to have access to the U.S. border,” he said in a phone interview.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega won a fourth consecutive term this month after jailing his main opponents.