Nicaragua eliminates visa requirements for Cubans

Archive image. The President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, and the Vice President of the country, his wife Rosario Murillo, during a rally in Managua, Nicaragua, “We walk for peace and for justice.” September 5, 2018. REUTERS / Oswaldo Rivas

MEXICO CITY, Nov. 23 (Reuters) – Nicaragua has announced it will eliminate the visa requirement for Cuban citizens to make it easier for Caribbean islanders to immigrate to the United States.

The Interior Ministry (Interior) said in a statement on Monday night that a “free visa” had been established for all Cuban people to promote trade and tourism and to improve family and humanitarian relations between Cuba.

Although President Daniel Ortega has historically sided with the Havana government, so far Caribbean islanders have had to implement permits to visit Central American countries.

In 2014, during the migration crisis on the Nicaraguan-Costa Rican border, the Ordega government prevented Cubans from entering its territory, with many analysts considering the move in favor of the United States.

But relations between Managua and Washington have deteriorated drastically. Earlier this month, the US government described the recent Nicaraguan presidential election, in which Ortega was re-elected for a fourth term, as “illegal”.

Washington has imposed sanctions on 38 Nicaraguan officials, including Ortega’s vice president, his wife Rosario Murillo and their three children.

(Mexico Newsroom Report; Written by Laura Gottsteiner; Edited by Lincoln Feast; Translated by Raல்l Corts Fernandez)