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Cuba will be one of the leading countries at a regional summit on migration to be held in Mexico on October 22.
The news was confirmed by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) in his morning press conference this Monday, in which he said that he expected the participation of 12 nations, including Mexico itself.
AMLO noted that the conclave would be held in the city of Palenque in the border state of Chiapas, and said he had invited the leaders of a group of Latin American and Caribbean countries that host or transit areas for migrants.
In addition to the host, the invited nations are Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panama.
“They are the countries that have the greatest influence in everything that has to do with migration, either because it is the residents of these countries who emigrate or because they are countries through which migrants travel,” commented AMLO, quoted by international media.
Thousands of migrants from Cuba and Central America protest at Mexico’s southern border – OnCubaNews
Of these countries, according to López Obrador, only Colombia and Guatemala have not yet confirmed their participation. The rest have already done so, he said, so the Cuban president has already confirmed their participation.
However, the island government has not yet officially reported this. There is no mention of it in a Prensa Latina note on the subject.
In addition, AMLO also said that the foreign ministers were invited, which could indicate that the island’s delegation could be led by Bruno Rodríguez if Díaz-Canel was not present.
On the agenda of the summit, the Mexican president pointed out, among other things, the causes of emigration and said that he was striving for “a good neighborly agreement against poverty” and for “the well-being of our people”.
“The approach is: What do we do to pay attention to those in the cities of origin who decide to move out of necessity? How do we ensure that there is work and that people in our country are well off?” Countries should be tempered in order to “reduce the flow of migrants and not just think about coercive measures, checkpoints, walls and the militarization of borders?”, AMLO commented.
López Obrador also noted the suffering of migrants on their journey and the risks they face, as well as the accidents, kidnappings and other tragedies that many of them suffer.
At least ten Cuban migrants die in a traffic accident in Chiapas – OnCubaNews
The conclave will take place at a time when the flow of migrants to the United States has increased significantly and the presence of migrants has increased at both Mexican borders.
There are large numbers of Cubans in this influx, spurred by the severe economic crisis suffered by the island and the delay of immigration mechanisms such as the humanitarian parole program introduced last January by the Biden administration.
The Cuban authorities acknowledged an “apparent increase” in the transit of nationals to the United States in recent months in a statement a few days ago following a tragic accident in Chiapas in which ten Cubans lost their lives.
According to official data from various media outlets, around 300,000 Cubans entered US territory irregularly in 2022.
Although numbers fell in the first half of this year, recent months have seen an increase in the number of migrants from the island trying to reach the United States both through the Central American route and by sea.
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