Nicaragua Closes Border to U.S.-Bound Cubans

Darien Pavia, 32, said he was anxious - after more than 1,000 Cubans stormed through the border crossing on Sunday and were forced to retreat by Nicaraguan riot police and the army - that Costa Rica's northern neighbor would never let them continue their trip to the United States.

Over the weekend, Costa Rica sent north to Nicaragua a large group of undocumented Cubans (between 1,600 and 1,900 according to local press) after announcing on Friday they would be "deported" to the neighboring country, whose government reportedly said it would not receive them.

"This policy stimulates irregular emigration from Cuba to the United States and is a violation of the letter and spirit of the migratory agreements in effect [between the United States and Cuba] in which both countries have taken on the obligation of guaranteeing legal, secure and orderly migration", the Cuban Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Cuban migrants have historically used Central America as a land bridge to the USA, where under current law they are usually offered the chance to apply for residency after a year.

A spokesman for Costa Rica's immigration authority confirmed the blockage.

"We have almost 2,000 people at the border", Gonzalez said.

Rather than risk crossing the Florida Straits by boat, where the US Coast Guard can send them back, they are increasingly flying to places like Ecuador, which has no visa restrictions on Cubans.

Numerous Cubans stuck in Costa Rica were stranded when the country busted a human trafficking ring that was charging $7,000 to $15,000 to smuggle them into the United States.

But with U.S.-Cuban relations improving since last December's detente, Cuban migration to United States has increased as Cubans anticipate a possible end to the preferential treatment.

Cuban migrants take part in a protest blocking the Pan-American...

Costa Rican news media also carried unconfirmed reports that the border closure followed a request to Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega from Cuban President Raul Castro, with whom he has long-standing ties.

"We're all very anxious here", Pavia said.

The Cuban Adjustment Act, the law that allows Cubans to stay in the United States even if they arrive without a visa, was enacted in 1966 to manage an exodus from the island after the Cuban Revolution.

Nicaragua, a close ally of Cuba, closed its border to the migrants on Sunday, accusing Costa Rica of dumping the migrants on its doorstep.

Two-thirds of them arrived through Laredo, Texas, on the Mexican border - 66 percent more than previous year.

Foreign Minister Manuel Gonzalez accused Nicaragua of "politically" exploiting the Cubans to draw attention away from a border dispute between the neighbouring countries expected to be ruled on by the worldwide Court of Justice within days. "If President Obama has normalized relations with Cuba, why would we treat illegal immigrants from that nation any different than those from other countries?" he said in a statement.