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Migrants at the Paso Canoas refugee camp in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, on August 9.
CNN –
Costa Rica’s president has declared a state of emergency, citing the surge of migrants crossing the country toward the United States.
“The people who are arriving are essentially traveling through Costa Rica to get to the United States,” President Rodrigo Chaves said at a news conference Tuesday.
Chavez said people crossing his country come from all over the world, including Venezuela, Ecuador, China, Colombia, Haiti, Yemen and Bangladesh.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), over 84,490 people entered Costa Rica’s southern border in August – a 55% increase compared to the previous month.
Ezequiel Becerra/AFP/Getty Images/FILE
A group of Venezuelan migrants asks for money to travel to the United States in San Jose, Costa Rica, on October 13, 2022.
Regionally, the number of migrants crossing the treacherous Darien Gap – which connects Panama and Colombia and has recently served as a barometer for the movement – has broken a new record this year.
According to the authorities, 248,901 people have crossed the jungle so far in 2023, around 20% of whom are children and young people.
In a statement on Wednesday, the IOM called on governments in Central America and Mexico to work together to address the travelers’ “immediate humanitarian needs” and longer-term solutions, warning that existing aid resources are “nearly exhausted.”
“People traveling through Central America and Mexico face many challenges. The trek through the Darien jungle leaves many injured, sometimes abandoned on muddy slopes, swept away by sudden river floods, and vulnerable to robbery, violence and sexual abuse,” the statement said.
“In countries along the route, financially struggling families suffer from hunger, sleep on the streets and are forced to beg. Many suffer from health problems such as diarrhea and dehydration,” it said.
In August, Chávez visited US President Joe Biden to discuss migration and other issues.
Costa Rica is among a number of countries that will open so-called Safe Mobility Offices, a new initiative by the Biden administration to work with international organizations to set up residential processing centers for migrants who can apply for legal immigration to the United States. among other countries instead of continuing their journey to the border.
As of August 28, more than 38,000 people in Colombia, Costa Rica and Guatemala have registered for the Safe Mobility Initiative, according to a White House official.