QCOSTARICA – The 200 Cubans in the Costa Rica illegally and camped out in front of the immigration offices in La Uruca will be deported to Nicaragua starting today, confirmed the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (immigration service).
Many have been in Costa Rica for more than week, now running out of money, had entered the country with the help of a trafficking network that was dismantled Tuesday.
The first group of Cubans left on the 1:15pm bus bound for Nicaragua, the others will be doing so over the coming days, in groups of 30, according to immigration.
More Cubans on the way
At the Panama border this morning hundreds of Cubans demonstrated in front of the immigration offices, demanding the government of Costa Rica allow to move north to Nicaragua, to continue to their final destination, the United States.
Many pay US$15 to spend the night for a room in small hotels near the border, before making their trek north.
The group claim that at least 300 Cubans will be arriving in the coming days, passing through Ecuador, Colombia and Panama.
This year so far some 13,000 Cubans have entered Costa Rica illegally, many entering the country with the help of trafficking networks. According to immigration, only 750 have been deported.
