The Guatemalan authorities have expelled from their territory nearly 50 migrants, including 20 of Cuban origin, who were discovered on an irregular journey to the United States.
According to a statement from the Guatemalan Migration Institute (IGM), the Cubans were expelled to Honduras, from where they entered Nicaragua, one of the few countries that does not require visas for citizens of the largest of the Antilles.
The group also traveled with four people from Nepal, five from Bangladesh, seven from Ecuador and another 12 from Venezuela sharing the same destination.
According to the press release, all foreigners received appropriate care at the Immigration Care Center for Foreigners (CAMIEX) before being loaded onto a National Civil Police bus and taken to the Agua Caliente area, located in Chiquimila state.
#Information | The deportation of 48 people to the Agua Caliente border post was coordinated. ➡️ https://t.co/rw6gwZT1ZW pic.twitter.com/3EvLBynx9M
– Guatemala Migration (@MigrationGuate) December 1, 2022
In recent months, Guatemala has conducted similar operations to stem the flow of undocumented migrants into its territory and stop human trafficking networks.
In this regard, Decree 5-2022 provides for prison terms of between 10 and 30 years for these so-called coyotes. Likewise, fines range from 100,000 to 200,000 quetzales, equivalent to about $12,480.
According to CAMIEX, 2,542 migrants of different nationalities have been detained in Guatemala since the beginning of 2022 trying to get to the Mexico-US border.
It is important to mention that a significant number of these migrants left Cuba in search of better opportunities, thanks to the free visa policy adopted by Daniel Ortega’s government, which opened a shorter and safer route to the Antilles.
These Cubans move to the Nicaraguan capital of Managua, from where they join the irregular migrant flow to countries like Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico.
Guatemala in November more than 100 undocumented people expelledalmost half of which were originally from the island.