Many Cubans choosing the Nicaraguan option

Opinion

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This article was published 10/06/2024 (484 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was just like clockwork. Every morning at 6 a.m., I would begin my day in Cuba at the hotel bistro or lobby bar with my delicious cappuccinos. Every time, I would overhear one of the staff members talking about this or that person heading to Nicaragua.

So I asked my coffee server one morning about all of the chatter about Nicaragua. I figured that the trek to the Cuba-friendly Central American country had something to do with Cuba’s ongoing food shortages, daily electrical blackouts for hours, the rising cost of living and the lack of medical supplies.

I spoke with one Cuban, who now has friends working in Mexico and Costa Rica, who said that Cuba is experiencing the worst crisis in more than 100 years. He mentioned the fact that basic food items, such as bread, milk and eggs, are simply not available or are inordinately expensive. Many Cubans are leaving because they are angry about the low pay and shortages and fed up with the current conditions in the country.

Apparently, thousands of Cubans have been posting daily online about their decision to opt for Nicaragua — many of them in their 20s, 30s and even 40s. Each one of them is hoping to eventually land in the United States in search of permanent residency and a better life. There is also the dream of a higher-paying job in Texas or Florida and an opportunity to send desperately needed cash back to family members in Cuba.

Another part of the appeal is the fact that Nicaragua does not require Cubans to first obtain a travel visa to enter the country.

Secondly, it allows Cubans to avoid the very treacherous terrain of the Darien Gap (the strip of jungle between Colombia and Panama) — to say nothing of the vicious and unscrupulous human smugglers who prey on the desperate.

Rates undoubtedly vary, but the typical price for a flight from Cuba to Managua, Nicaragua, is about US$2,000 — an astronomical cost for the average Cuban. I was told it would likely cost an additional US$1,000 to arrange for transportation (via car, truck or bus) to make their way through Honduras and Guatemala to get to the Mexico-U.S. border.

It is important to note, however, that this trek is not without its share of risks and potential dangers. The so-called coyotes required to make the trip to Mexico possible are not above demanding higher transit fees, extracting ransom money from the families of would-be migrants and even engaging in uglier scenarios. One Cuban friend told me the coyotes can be frighteningly violent, physically attack the migrants and even rape some of the Cuban women.

But once they arrive in Mexico, the financial difficulties, legal challenges and the waiting game begins. Cuban migrants will need to find a place to live, a means of scraping by and a way of coping with the immigration uncertainties that can go on for months. Many are staying in Mexican shelters, doing odd jobs such as construction, transportation and cleaning houses and doing their level-best to avoid any negative encounters with the Mexican police.

Opting for the legal way to enter the U.S., these Cubans are at the mercy of the Customs and Border Patrol smartphone app known as CBP1. Setting to one side the app’s notorious technological glitches and frequent failures to work properly, it’s a bit of a crap-shoot as to whether or not you can secure, through the app, an appointment with U.S. border patrol agents.

Remember that one has to go through all of these immigration hoops to secure a piece of paper specifying a court date for 2025.

Moreover, adhering to the CBP1 process does involve meeting some critical stipulations. Generally, each prospective Cuban migrant must pass a security check and needs to have family or friends in the U.S. willing to provide adequate housing. It is also very important that they have a close contact to be able to support them financially in the short term.

While awaiting their court hearing date in the U.S., they will typically seek work permits and commence the legal actions to file an application for political asylum. For Cubans, it usually requires the asylum-seeker, after they have been granted asylum, to wait one year and one day before finally securing permanent residency.

Since late 2021, after Nicaragua lifted its visa requirement, 400,000 Cubans have gone to the Central American country. The Cuban government is banking on mass tourism to turn the economy around, but the visitor numbers for 2023-24 are nowhere near what they were in 2019 (before the pandemic). According to one Cuban, the country is losing a tremendous amount of youthful talent, experience and expertise that is needed for Cuba to develop economically and socially.

Peter McKenna is professor of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown.