Cuban MinRex: Cubans marooned in Costa Rica may return

Official statement from the Cuban Foreign Ministry, translated by Progreso Weekly. For additional information, click here.

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In recent days, a complex situation has been created by the fact that more than a thousand Cuban citizens have been arriving in Costa Rica from other countries in the region with the intention of traveling to the United States.

These people left Cuba legally toward different Latin American countries, meeting all the requirements established by the Cuban emigration regulations. In attempting to reach U.S. territory, they have fallen victim to traffickers and criminal gangs, who unscrupulously profit from the control of the passage of these people through South America, Central America and Mexico.

The Cuban authorities have remained in permanent contact with the governments of the countries involved, aiming to find a quick and adequate solution that takes into consideration the welfare of the Cuban citizens.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to emphasize that these people are victims of the politicization of the immigration issue by the government of the United States, the Cuban Adjustment Act and, in particular, the application of the so-called “dry-feet-wet-feet”policy, which gives Cubans a differentiated treatment, unique worldwide, by admitting them immediately and automatically, regardless of the ways and means used, even if they arrive illegally in its territory.

This policy encourages irregular migration from Cuba to the United States and constitutes a violation of the letter and spirit of the Migration Accords in force, whereby both countries assumed the obligation to ensure a legal, safe and orderly migration.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounces that the U.S. government also enforces the so-called “Cuban Medical Professional Parole Program,” adopted in 2006 by President George W. Bush, to encourage doctors and other Cuban health professionals to abandon their missions in third countries and emigrate to the United States.

This is a reprehensible practice aimed at damaging the Cuban cooperation programs and depriving Cuba and many other countries of vital and necessary human resources.

The Foreign Ministry reiterates once again that the policy of “dry-feet-wet-feet” and the “Cuban Medical Professional Parole Program” are inconsistent with the current bilateral context, impede the normalization of migratory relations between Cuba and the United States, and create problems for other countries.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirms that the Cuban citizens who have left the country legally and comply with existing immigration legislation are entitled to return to Cuba, if they so wish.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirms the commitment of the government of Cuba to a legal, safe and orderly migration.

Havana, Nov. 17, 2015