Costa Rica - Ninety-three Cubans stranded in Costa Rica since last November left San Jose for Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Thirty-six flights have provided a safe and orderly outcome for almost 5,000 of the 7,802 stranded Cuban migrants to whom Costa Rica issued transit visas.

The migration crisis was resolved by an agreement among the governments of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico, which was carried out with IOM support. This one-off agreement gave the stranded migrants the chance to move on as regular migrants, avoiding the “coyotes” (migrant smugglers) and the dangers of irregular migration, such as trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, assault and death.

“IOM congratulates the government and the people of Costa Rica for embracing these stranded migrants during four months. We applaud the agreement between governments that allowed these migrants to continue their path in a regular, safe and dignified fashion,” said Roeland de Wilde, IOM’s Chief of Mission in Costa Rica.

IOM recommended a solution in which Cuban migrants paid for their own tickets for flights to San Salvador (El Salvador) and Nuevo Laredo (Mexico), as well as ground transportation by bus.

IOM also has supported the government of Costa Rica’s management of 44 shelters for stranded migrants for nearly four months.

However, Cuban migrants are still arriving in Panama, usually via Ecuador and Colombia. At least 600 migrants are requesting assistance in Puerto Obaldía and Paso Canoas. “It is important that governments find a long-term approach to the continuous migration flow of Cubans,” said Marcelo Pisani, IOM’s Regional Director for Central, North America and the Caribbean.

For further information, please contact Jorge Gallo at the IOM Regional Office in Costa Rica, Tel: + (506) 2212-5300, Email:  jgallo@iom.int