Guatemalan Army detains 26 Cuban migrants

The Army ofGuatemala arrested 26Cuban migrants when they were trying to reach theborder with Mexico, to continue heading towards the United States.

“Units of the Guatemalan Army carried out an inspection on a bus that was transporting 26 migrants of Cuban nationality, it is presumed that they entered illegally and were heading to the border of Mexico in Playitas, Chisec, in the department of Alta Verapaz,” reported this Thursday the Guatemalan military entity.

In a video published on Twitter, a military spokesperson for the Central American country explained that the arrest of the 26 people occurred on Thursday morning, and that 12 are men, 13 women and one minor.

He said that all of them presented identity documents from the Republic of Cuba, but none could prove that they had entered the territory of Guatemala regularly.

“For this reason, these people were detained and the authorities of the National Police and the Guatemalan Immigration Institute were already notified so that they could appear at the scene and carry out the respective procedures,” he added.

Likewise, he indicated that the minibus in which the Cubans were traveling was about to board the ferry that crosses the Chixoy River to bring them closer to the political border between Guatemala and Mexico, so that they could continue their trip to the north of the continent.

Finally, he reiterated that operations continue to prevent the irregular migratory flow through Guatemalan territory.

The day before it emerged that aUnspecified number of Cubans were among 710 irregular migrants prevented from entering Guatemala in the first six days of September.

"From September 1 to 6 of this year, 710 people of different nationalities have been located, mostly Venezuelans, Hondurans, Cubans and Haitians, who enter the country through unauthorized posts, failing to comply with immigration requirements," he said. in astatement the Guatemalan Migration Institute (IGM).

Last Sunday it was learned that the immigration authorities alsoThey prevented the entry of 21 Cubans to its territory through the Agua Caliente and Corinto Border Posts, where a total of 457 people were rejected.

Days before,the Police in that country detained 181 irregular migrants, among them an undetermined group of Cubans during two operations in the Chiquimula department.

“Police from police station 23 at km 228 Inter-American Route Esquipulas, Chiquimula, located 157 citizens of Venezuela, Haiti, Ecuador, Senegal, Nicaragua, Cuba, Colombia and Cameroon, who entered the country irregularly,”the National Civil Police (PNC) tweeted about the first group intercepted.

It was later learned that a second group of 24 migrants from Venezuela, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Cuba were arrested at km 177 of the Vado Hondo Inter-American Route, Chiquimula. This second group was sent to the Agua Caliente Esquipulas Chiquimula border, presumably to be expelled from the country.

According to the IGM, during the next few days these actions would continue to be carried out at all border posts in the south of the country, with the collaboration of the PNC and the Ministry of Defense, Attorney General's Office.

In recent times, the government of the Central American nation has increased surveillance on its borders and the prohibition of entry to irregular immigrants.

In generalCubans head, along with Venezuelans and Hondurans, the list of expulsions at different points on the Guatemalan border so far this year.

"From January to date, 9,019 foreigners have been expelled, who have been sent to the Agua Caliente Integrated Border Control Post, located on the border with Honduras in the department of Chiquimula, by the National Civil Police, who have located them in different points of the national territory to these people who do not comply with the entry requirements to Guatemala,” the IGM noted in this regard in a statement released at the end of August.