QCOSTARICA- Following the announcement Friday night by Costa Rica Foreign Minister, Manuel Gonzalez, to withdraw from the Central American Integration System (SICA, in Spanish), today, Monday, a technical group is expected examine the situation of thousands of Cuban migrants who are stranded in Costa Rica since mid-November.
In his announcement Friday, Gonzalez cited the lack of support by the Central American countries and the abandonment of the policy of the SICA, as the reason for its withdrawl.
According to the Salvadorean Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugo Martinez, at the meeting today they want to form a committee of experts of the area to review the ‘legal bodies of each country’ and find the best way to solve the issue of the islanders.
According to a report by Prensa Latina, Cuban authorities maintain permanent contact with the governments of the countries involved to find a quick and appropriate solution that takes into consideration the welfare of its citizens, and their commitment to a legal, safe and orderly migration.
Also on Friday, Costa Rica suspended the issuing of transit visas to new Cuban migrants reaching the Costa Rican border with Panama. President Luis Guillermo Solis confirmed that the suspension does not affect the almost 6,000 already in the country, sheltered near the Nicaragua border and the some 2,000 already at the Panama border. The rest, meaning all other Cuban migrants found in the country illegally, will be deported to Cuba, according to the Solis’ announcement.