The Central American country goes from being a stepping stone to the US to a destination where people can settle
14ymedio, Madrid, 14ymedio, February 25, 2026 — A discreet and quiet wave of Cubans has been arriving in Nicaragua for the past year. This time they are not just passing through; they are not coming with the intention of continuing on to the United States overland, like those who took the “volcano route,” nor are they here to buy goods to resell on the island, like the drug mules who became commonplace starting in 2019. The tightening of Donald Trump’s measures during his second term, which included sealing the border to prevent any irregular migrants from crossing, largely eliminated the Central American country as a “stepping stone,” but not as a destination.
“My husband, who lives in Miami, brought us out of Cuba last year so we could be here for the time being, but with how things are now in the United States, we are thinking that he should come here too,” says a woman from Havana who lives in Managua with her two children – a boy and a girl – referring to the uncertainty her husband faces, with an I-220A permit that could lead to his deportation to the island if he loses his asylum case .
Nicaragua, she says, “is a poor country, but there aren’t the shortages, no blackouts, no hours-long waits for buses. In short, those simple things in life that one should take for granted.” The woman says she had no problem obtaining her permanent residency, and that’s why she thinks it might be easier for her family to settle here. This is no small matter, considering it is another authoritarian regime, that of Daniel Ortega and his wife and co-president, Rosario Murillo, which has forced thousands of its citizens into exile.
Many of her compatriots share her opinion, although there are no official figures. It is a fact that until 2020 there were only 984 Cubans in Nicaragua, according to data from the UN’s International Organization for Migration, and that this changed drastically with Ortega’s elimination of visa requirements for them—in agreement with Miguel Díaz-Canel to facilitate the emigration of those who disagreed with the government—in November 2021.
The vast majority of the hundreds of thousands of Cuban nationals who have passed through the Central American country since then only used it as a transit point—almost 300,000 crossed the US border in 2022—but Trump’s new rules changed the game. According to a report published by La Prensa last November, 32,043 Cubans entered Nicaragua from Honduras irregularly between January and November 2025. This doesn’t mean they all stayed, but considering the difficulty of reaching the US, the number gives a rough idea of the scale of the Cuban migration wave.
Along with Nicaragua, Costa Rica and El Salvador are also receiving Cuban nationals, as countless videos posted on social media demonstrate. “These posts might create a pull factor,” says Julia, a Nicaraguan woman who has befriended many Cubans. “Everyone is surprised when they arrive in the country. Since it’s also a socialist state, very friendly with the Cuban regime, it’s logical to think that living conditions are similar to there, but they’re not.”
Along with Nicaragua, also receiving nationals from the island are Costa Rica and El Salvador.
The testimonials on various platforms number in the dozens. Small restaurants serving croquettes, baked pork ribs, and rice and beans, undeterred by fuel or raw material shortages; young people selling suckling pig on the street, hoping to one day own their own establishment; waiters between 18 and 25 years old who “colonize” the restaurants and serve with enthusiasm and friendliness. “These people are going to go far,” Julia believes, “because, starting from humble beginnings, they don’t let life get them down.”
And this is without even mentioning the highly qualified staff. A wide range of people from the island’s community have come to settle in Nicaragua, from “millionaires who have established large, legitimate businesses, like those who have almost completely taken over the tobacco industry in Estelí ,” says a knowledgeable source, “to people who come with just enough to survive.”
In Managua, he dares to say, “there is not a single hospital, public or private, that does not have at least one Cuban doctor.”
“That accent is unmistakable and it’s everywhere,” says Darío, a Nicaraguan who is amused by this unexpected “Trump effect.” They are easily recognizable, and not just by their voices. “Today at the supermarket I ran into a couple of doctors (they were in uniform) filling two shopping carts like there was no tomorrow, and they looked like Gulliver and his wife shopping in Lilliput, because they were both very tall and we are a country of hobbits,” he recounts with amusement.
Darío continues: “Here, they are very well-liked and supported by the people. They are a workforce that comes already prepared and generally has a higher level of education than the national average.” That, he ventures, is the reason why, even though Managua ended the visa exemption for Cubans earlier this month, visas remain free.
“And if it weren’t for the flight suspensions due to the fuel shortage, Cubans would still be arriving, despite the new measures, because the truth is, it benefits the witch — he opines, alluding to Co-President Murillo — hence the wink of not charging visa fees only to them.” In fact, he concludes, “if Cuba gets its act together and those who are here go back, the blow to many small and medium-sized businesses is going to be hard.”
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