The government of Nicaragua established “visa-free” status for Cuban citizens as of this Monday, in what it described as a “humanitarian” measure.
"Given the number of requests from brother Cuban citizens with relatives in Nicaragua, and In order to promote commercial exchange, tourism and humanitarian family relationships, as of Monday, November 22, 2021, visa-free travel is established. for all Cuban citizens who wish to enter Nicaragua," indicated the Ministry of the Interior in a Press Release published in its web.
The elimination of the visa means that Cubans will not have to explain the reason for their trip to the Central American nation nor did they pay the equivalent of $17.85 for the visa, which had a duration of 30 days, extendable to 90.
The Nicaraguan authorities did not specify whether Cubans must comply with the pandemic measures to enter Nicaragua, including presenting a negative COVID-19 test valid for a maximum of three days or a pre-check seven days in advance.
Until the arrival of the pandemic coronavirus It was common to see Cuban citizens crowded at the Augusto César Sandino International Airport in Managua, queuing to return to Havana with multiple suitcases of purchases.
The “visa-free” measure that came into force this Monday not only facilitates shopping tourism, but also saves Cubans interested in leaving the country for immigration purposes the crossing of the dangerous Darien Jungle, natural border between Colombia and Panama, which has claimed numerous lives in recent years.
A growing number of citizens of the island have tried to arrive directly on Nicaraguan soil in recent years to avoid crossing the Darién on their route to arrive at Mexico's southern border with the United States and request political asylum. However, those who did not obtain the visa, in many cases chose to cross borders from various South American countries, such as Chile, Brazil or Uruguay.
The Cuban community was recently shaken by the double tragedy of a Cuban family that in less than a month lost two of its members, a mother and her 14-year-old son, who died while trying to arrive in Panama from Colombia. That family, who had resided in Chile since 2018, had tried to apply for a visa to Nicaragua, but had been denied, which is why they decided to continue crossing borders, according to a family source.
The attitude of the Nicaraguan government now differs radically from that adopted between 2015 and 2016, when the closure of borders to Cubans from Costa Rica caused a serious migration crisis and forced an agreement between several Central American nations to charter special flights to Mexico.
Nicaragua and Cuba, both countries part of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People's Trade Treaty (Alba-TCP), have maintained close political relations each time the Central American country has been governed by Daniel Ortega, first among 1979 and 1990, and then since 2007.
Cuba, in addition to Russia and Venezuela, are currently the only countries that accept the presidential elections that took place at the beginning of this month. They granted Daniel Ortega a fourth term after an electoral process marked by the repression of the opposition and the imprisonment of other candidates.
“Congratulations to the brother people of Nicaragua, to Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, for the result of this Sunday's elections, which were a demonstration of sovereignty and civility in the face of the cruel media campaign they suffer,” Díaz-Canel wrote on Twitter.
Ortega detained opponents and business leaders, canceled rival parties and criminalized dissent for months. The voting was held with seven candidates detained, including Cristiana Chamorro, whom polls showed as a great favorite to beat the ruler.
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