English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Ángel Salinas, Mexico, January 2, 2023 — Miami is the target of Rolando and his wife Yaimaris. In this region in southeastern Florida they hope to achieve a better future for their seven-year-old daughter, because on the Island “the situation gets worse every day.” This Cuban couple spent 48 hours in a detention center … Continue reading “283,189 Cubans Crossed to the U.S. in 2022, an Average of 775 Per Day”
14ymedio/EFE, Mexico, 15 December 2022 — The brothers José Luis and Raúl Borroto entered Mexico 40 days ago through Chiapas. “We paid the coyote $4,000 to take us to the border and he abandoned us.” These Cubans are part of the group of 368 migrants that the National Guard arrested on November 18 in the … Continue reading “More Than 17,000 Cubans Have Applied for Refuge in Mexico, Most of Them to Avoid Deportation”
14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 2 November 2022 — The United States Border Patrol rescued two Cuban women, a mother and daughter, who were trapped in the Río Grande, in the Mexican city of Reynosa, south of Texas. According to the chief officer of the Valley sector, Gloria Chávez, the women were “abandoned” by coyotes 320 feet from … Continue reading “The Border Patrol Rescues Two Cuban Women Abandoned by Coyotes in the Rio Grande”
14ymedio, Alejandro Mena Ortiz, 2 May 2022 — The conditions of the prison were not bad, as I was saying, and in addition you could also play Parcheesi, dominoes, chess, soccer or basketball. We turned into a huge, multinational family. One of the Cubans who impressed me the most was a guy from Villa Clara … Continue reading “Cuban Migration Part 10 – A Few Days in a Texas Jail and the Unknown Taste of Freedom”
14ymedio, Ángel Salinas, Mexico, 17 May 2022 — Leave Cuba? The grandchildren and children had already done it years before. Martín Guzmán Fernández did not have a hard time deciding. On Saturday, after 78 days of travel, he arrived in the United States, “he crossed through Arizona and this Sunday la migra picked him up” … Continue reading “At Age 82, Cuban Martin Guzman Fernandez Leaves the Island and Arrives in the United States”
14ymedio, Lorey Saman, Mexico, 27 September 2021 — Cuba is the country with the second most migrants (10,742) who have crossed into Panama through the Darien jungle in the first eight months of 2021. The only country that surpasses it, which is far ahead, is Haiti, with 43,623, according to statistics from the National Migration … Continue reading “Number of Cuban Migrants Crossing the Darian Migrants Doubles”
14ymedio, Lorey Saman, Mexico, August 4, 2021 — Refugee applications by Cubans in Mexico continue to grow strongly and already exceed last year’s figures. In the first six months of 2021, there were 6,446 petitions, compared to 5,778 during all of 2020. According to the latest statistics published by the National Refugees Commission of Mexico (COMAR), Cuba … Continue reading “In the First Six Months of 2021 More Cubans Arrived in Mexico than in the Entire Previous Year”
14ymedio, Lorey Saman, Mexico, 24 June 2021 — Between January of this year and to date in June, a total of 10,995 Cubans have gone to the offices of the National Institute of Migration (INM) of Mexico to process the paperwork for their legal stay in the country or to renew their residency. Cuba ranked … Continue reading “Almost 11,000 Cubans Have Accessed Mexican Migration Offices Since January”
14ymedio, Havana, 11 January 2021 — Some 44,829 Cubans visited Nicaragua in 2019, according to the Nicaraguan Tourism Institute (Intur). The figure grew considerably in comparison to the two prior years, when only around 2,000 flew into Managua, the capital. According to the latest Intur statistical bulletin reported in the local press, Cuban visitors represent … Continue reading “The Number of Cubans Traveling to Nicaragua Went From 2,000 a Year to Nearly 45,000”
14ymedio, Lorey Saman, Mexico, 7 January 2021 — A group of Cubans stranded in Tapachula, in the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico, got into a fight this Tuesday in front of the main entrance of the offices of the National Institute of Migration (INM), when they tried complete the paperwork for a humanitarian visa that … Continue reading “Cuban and Central American Migrants Clash on Mexico’s Southern Border”
14ymedio, Mexico, 5 October 2020 — Cubans continue to enter Mexico from the south despite the closure of the borders of the Central American countries due to the pandemic. So far this year, 4,174 have already requested asylum, according to the latest data published by the National Commission for Refugees (Comar). As of last month, … Continue reading “Thousands of Cubans Continue to Seek Refuge on Mexico’s Southern Border”
14ymedio, Havana, May 6, 2019 — In only three consecutive days in May, Mexico repatriated a total of 228 Cubans, spread out in a first group of 93 on Thursday, 77 on Friday, and 58 on Saturday. In barely three days the figures for all of 2018 were surpassed, according to statistics from the National … Continue reading “Mexico Repatriated More Cubans in Two Days Than in All of 2018”
14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 14 February 2017 — Hundreds of Cubans were stranded in Mexico after the Obama administration ended the wet-foot/dry-foot policy that favored Cuban’s immigration to the United States, but for the 90 who are detained at the 21st Century Migrant Station in Tapachula, and for their relatives in the United States, the … Continue reading “Extortions, Kidnappings And Limbo: Daily Life Of Cubans Stranded In Mexico / 14ymedio, Mario Penton”
14ymedio, Mario Penton, Chiapas, 20 January 2017 — The Mexican National Institute of Migration (INM) issued a press release Friday stating that 91 Cubans had been repatriated to the island after the end of the wet foot/dry foot policy that would have allowed them to obtain asylum on reaching the United States. “In compliance with … Continue reading “Mexico Deports 91 Cuban Migrants / 14ymedio, Mario Penton”
14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 18 January 2017 — Abandoned to their fate on islands, in jungles and at borders, thousands of Cubans have not recovered from the surprise measure of Barack Obama’s administration that frustrated the trip for which they sold their few belongings in Cuba to venture to reach American soil. With a soft … Continue reading “Thousands Of Cubans Stranded Along The Continent Put Their Hope In Trump / 14ymedio, Mario Penton”