Highlights
• As of 16 December 2015, at least 7,230 Cuban migrants are in Costar Rican territory. The Commission for Risk Prevention and Emergency Management Costa Rica (CNE in its Spanish acronym) report 3,981 migrants hosted in 31 shelters.
• The shelters are distributed in several locations of Guanacaste, Alajuela, Puntarenas and San Jose Provinces.
• To date, General Directorate of Migration (DGME) has issued 5,360 temporary visas to the Cuban migrants but some 2,230 other migrants wait in Panama border (Cistercian side) to receive a visa.
Situation Overview
Number of Cuban Migrants in Shelters:
o According to CNE, as of 16 December 2015 there were 3,981 Cubans in 31 shelters: Guanacaste Province 13 shelter 1,843 persons, Alajuela Province 15 shelter 1,801persons, Puntarenas Province and San José Province (Panama border) 3 shelter 337 persons.
Number of Cuban Migrants in Paso Canoas (border with Panama):
o 2,230 Cuban migrants waiting for visa in Paso Canoas (Costa Rica-Panama border).
The transit to Nicaragua is still closed for Cubans migrants, while there is a continuous inflow of Cuban migrants to Costa Rica from the border with Panama. The DGME will suspend the visa issuing process during the Christmas holiday. To date 31 emergency shelters host 3,981 Cuban migrants. These shelters are located in:
o Guanacaste Province: La Cruz 11 shelters, Liberia 2 shelter.
o Alajuela Province: Upala 6 shelter, Guatuso 6 shelter (both sites, approximately 100km east to Peñas Blancas), San Ramón 1 shelter, Zarcero 1 shelter (50 km away from San Jose city)
o San José Province: Perez Zeledon 1 shelter (near to Panama border)
o Puntarenas Province: Corredores 2 shelter (near to Panama border)
The chances for a prompt resolution is uncertain since the several diplomatic talks under the Central American Integration System (SICA) and other bilateral efforts to facilitate a Central American corridor have been fruitless.
The government of Ecuador established an entry visa for Cuban citizens from December 1st. Although this decision limits the new arrivals from La Havana, the flow of migrants continues because many of them had arrived in Ecuador in earlier months in order to make the land journey to the north.
Costa Rica provides shelter, food, medical care and other basic needs to this population, but the government stated that their capacity for care and assistance is already exhausted. Nevertheless, the CNE has identified 9 new facilities foreseen as shelter for at least 2200 persons more.
A series of social, environmental and health conditions tend to aggravate the fragility of the situation for this population. Such is the case of the outbreak of dengue/chikungunya, the drought, the start of the summer season, the massive return of Nicaraguan workers, the approaching exhaustion of the threshold of coexistence/tolerance of the local community, and other factors that foreseen a major crisis in the shelter areas.