QCOSTARICA – The arrival of hundreds of Cubans to the Paso Canoas border (with Panama) has caused havoc among Costa Rica sex workers, claiming they (the Cubans) are stealing their clients, by charging cheaper.
In a report by the Diario Extra, the ‘Las Caribeñas’ (Cubans), in shelters on the Panama side of the border, manage to cross the border into the country, this after Costa Rica immigration on December 18, 2015 closed the border to Cuban migrants.
The Extra says the Cubanas (Cubans) have won the heart of truckers, which make up the majority of clients for sex workers at the border.
Unconfirmed reports say last week there was a physical confrontation between a Tica (Costa Rican), whose husband left her for a Cubana, who offered a “better price for her sexual favours”.
“Ana”, a sex worker, told the Diario Extra she usually services four men a day, however, with the presence of the voluptuous Cubans, she is lucky for two.
“As soon as they arrived at the border they caused problems, ravaging all that offers them good money, in fact they are cheaper than us. The men prefer them for their wide hips and for being foreign, truckers go mad for them, we have had a big drop in intimate encounters,” Ana, who has been working as a prostitute for the last five years, told the newspaper.
The sex worker is urging the government to do something in respect of the situation.
“They are bankrupting us, but we are fighting back. We are offering a half hour for ¢15.000 colones (US$28) and an hour for ¢25.000, the man pays the for the room. We know they (Cubans) are in transit and hope that soon they will continue their way north,” said Ana.
Sex at the Panama border can be purchased at any hour of the day or night.
Sex work in Costa Rica is legal as long as it does not involve minors.
