Nicaragua bars Cuban migrants

The bishops of Central America have appealed for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor to allow Cuban migrants to pass through the region en route to the US, writes Isabel de Bertodano.

Nearly 4,000 migrants are stranded in Costa Rica because the Nicaraguan authorities have refused to allow them through on their way north. After the recent thaw in relations between Cuba and the US, the migrants fear the US will abolish its Cold War-era policy of offering asylum to Cubans who arrive overland.

The bishops, representing Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, held a meeting last week, publishing a letter calling on Central American leaders to find an “immediate solution”.