First of Cubans Who Were Stranded in Costa Rica Arrive in US

First of Cubans Who Were Stranded in Costa Rica Arrive in US / 14ymedio
Posted on January 16, 2016

14ymedio (with information from agencies), Havana, 15 January 2016 – The
first group of Cuban migrants coming from Costa Rica, of the almost
8,000 stranded in that Central American Country since November, are now
in the United States.

On Thursday, 12 Cubans arrived in the Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo and,
hours later, at night, crossed the international bridge that leads to
Laredo, on the other side of the border in Texas, putting an end to
their long journey by land that began in Ecuador.

"We are content because we reached our objective," said Randy Cuevas,
the first to cross the frontier, in a video loaded to the Facebook page
of the civic organization Cubans in Freedom, which is helping the Cubans
who are arriving in Texas. "It was a hard war, since October we have
been going through this, but hey, I made it, thanks to God and
everyone," said Cuevas.

The same organization showed several recordings of the testimony of
Cubans exultant on reaching US soil. "It is the greatest happiness,"
confessed Liliande Gonzalez.

Another of the first to cross on Thursday night, Daniel Caballero, said,
"I am a Cuban who has just achieved the American dream."

On Friday morning another 47 arrived, part of the group of 180 that
formed the first contingent sent by plane from Costa Rica to El Salvador
and from there by land to Mexico crossing Guatemala, according to
Alejandro Ruiz, founder of Cubans in Freedom. "Especially for those who
have no family, we offer them a refugee program in Texas," said Ruiz in
an interview with Univision.

"We manage all the documentation, Medicare, the check they get from the
government, a Social Security number [that identifies all individuals in
the United States], and we do it all absolutely free," he said.

"I'm happy, I feel brand new," Julio Cesar Arcia Medina told AFP. Arcia
Medina is a 37-year-old leatherworker who arrived on Friday by bus at
the international bridge of Nuevo Laredo, which daily records an intense
activity and great numbers of vehicles, being the main commercial
crossing to the United States.

The Associated Press picked up the testimony of Alexei Oliva at the
airport in Mexico City, about to board the plane that would take him
straight to Matamoros, also on the border with Texas. "I am anxious to
arrive," he said. "It's exciting."

Oliva left Cuba by plane on 27 October 2015 bound for Ecuador, where he
got "a little computer work" that helped to pay for the trip. "I've had
the best treatment in the world here in Mexico," commented Oliva passing
through the capital, a treatment very different from many migrants
crossing the country, who are extorted, robbed, kidnapped and sometimes
disappeared by the organized criminal gangs that generally operate with
the complicity of some authorities.

If successful, this pilot program could be extended to the islanders who
remain stranded in Costa Rican territory because, as of 15 November, the
neighboring country, Nicaragua,has refused to allow them to pass. Those
who want to be part of this solution, will have to pay the $555 it costs
to travel to Mexico.

The countries involved in the transit of Cubans will meet next week to
decide the next steps for the transfer of those who remain, said Katia
Rodriguez, Costa Rica's Director of Immigration.

Rodriguez estimated that another 28 flights may be needed to remove the
almost 8,000 Cubans in Costa Rican shelters. In addition, about 2,000
are in Panama.

The official also explained that to date Cubans who entered the country
illegally after 18 December have been deported and there are 40
applications for refugee status. At least 600 migrants tried to cross
into Nicaragua on their own and were returned to Costa Rica in the past
two months, since the Nicaraguan authorities decided to close its borders.

The flow of Cubans to the United States has soared since Washington and
Havana announced the restoration of diplomatic relations in December
2014, for fear that migration and employment benefits enjoyed by Cubans
when entering the United States via land will be eliminated.

Source: First of Cubans Who Were Stranded in Costa Rica Arrive in US /
14ymedio | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/first-of-cubans-who-were-stranded-in-costa-rica-arrive-in-us-14ymedio/