U.S. sanctions operators of flights from Nicaragua
The operators of flights from Nicaragua will be sanctioned by the United States. Washington wants to put an end to the flood of planes full of would-be illegal entry into the United States, whose route, the most dangerous land route in the world, passes precisely through Nicaragua.
Haitians waiting to board a flight to Nicaragua gather after the government banned all charter flights to Nicaragua, at Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Oct. 30, 2023. AP - Odelyn Joseph
By: RFI Follow
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The new target of the U.S. authorities is charter flights to Nicaragua, filled with Cuban and Haitian citizens. They are usually the stepping stone, the preliminary step before these migrants then set off on the road that leads to the border between Mexico and the United States. It is the most dangerous land route in the world
Airline operators who sublet flights to the destination will be subject to visa restrictions because they target migrants and put them at risk, the US Secretary of State said in a statement on Tuesday (November 21st). The flights, often booked by Florida-based agencies, are charged thousands of dollars to migrants.
Planes that are always full
However, the planes are not empty, increasing the pressure on the US administration, which has been in talks for months with the states of the region to curb the phenomenon. From January to October, 108,000 Cubans and 165,000 Haitians flew illegally. But many are then deported to their countries of origin.
Last month, Haiti suspended flights to Nicaragua. The State Department insists that its humanitarian permit program has been in place since January, but more than a million people are waiting to access it, a boon for traffickers.
Read alsoUnited States: Migrants continue to increase at the border with Mexico
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