14ymedio(EFE), Panama, February 26, 2024 — Jamaica returned 10 irregular migrants to Cuba, and the Cayman Islands returned another 4, along with 257 citizens of the Island deported from several countries in the region so far in 2024, according to official media reported this Sunday.
The group of Cuban migrants returned by the Jamaican authorities on a flight that arrived this Saturday in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba had left illegally by sea, according to a report from the Ministry of the Interior.
This week, the United States also reported the deportation of two groups of Cuban migrants. One was made up of 16 men, eight women and a minor, delivered on Wednesday by the U.S. Coast Guard Service, and another 51 were deported by air on Thursday.
This week, the United States also reported the deportation of two groups of Cuban migrants
To date, in 2024 there have been 21 returns with 257 irregular migrants, according to the Ministry’s report.
In 2023, Cuba received a total of 5,253 nationals, returned mostly from the United States but also from Mexico, the Bahamas, Belize, the Cayman Islands and the Dominican Republic.
Cuba is experiencing an unprecedented migratory wave, due to the serious economic crisis on the Island, with a great shortage of basic products (food, medicines and fuel), a galloping inflation, frequent power outages and a partial dollarization of the economy.
The 2022 estimates indicate that around 4% of the Cuban population left the country, and last year’s figures could be similar according to the accumulated recorded.
This Sunday, Panamanian authorities warned of the great increase in migrant crossings through the Darién jungle, the dangerous border between Panama and Colombia. More than 68,400 migrants have crossed it so far in 2024, about 22,673 more than in the same period last year.
The increase in migrants through the Darién on their way to the United States or Canada in search of better living conditions has been progressive since 2021
The increase in migrants through the Darién on their way to the United States or Canada in search of better living conditions has been progressive since 2021, reaching the record number of more than 520,000 last year.
For this year, an increase in migrants in transit on that dangerous route of up to 20% is expected. Faced with this, Minister Pino has previously warned that in order to “counter this action,” Panama’s security agencies have reinforced a campaign – which began in December 2023 and extends until next July – with more “land, naval and air assets, to create a greater blockade on the border with Colombia.”
Panama’s immigration authorities have also warned that they will continue deporting migrants who “have a criminal record.”
The route through the Darién is plagued with dangers such as attacks by wild animals, snake bites, floods due to torrential rains, robberies and rapes.
On February 14, at least five Afghan and 22 Venezuelan migrants, including a minor, died when their boat sank in the Caribbean. They were trying to avoid crossing the Darién. The rescuers found their bodies “stuck” in a rocky area.
The Panamanian authorities said that the precarious wooden boat was recklessly sailed by criminals, during bad weather in a very complex area for navigation “due to the strong waves.”
According to figures from the Ministry of Security of Panama, illegal migration is a “business” of organized crime, which last year made a profit of 820 million dollars by moving migrants through the Darien Jungle.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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