'Intransigent' Nicaragua refuses transit to US-bound Cubans

Nicaragua firmly refused Tuesday to ease a ban on US-bound Cuban migrants transiting through its territory, telling a meeting in El Salvador of Central American ministers and officials that its stance was "unalterable." The stern rebuke to regional calls for a "humanitarian corridor" for Cuban migrants through Central America prompted Costa Rica to accuse Nicaragua of "intransigence." Costa Rican Foreign Minister Manuel Gonzalez said on his Twitter account that a second meeting, expanded to also include representatives from Cuba, Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador, would be held later Tuesday to try to break the impasse. Nearly 3,000 Cubans are stranded Costa Rica on the border with Nicaragua, unable to cross the border which more than a week ago was reinforced with Nicaraguan soldiers and police. Costa Rica, the Red Cross and church organizations are providing them with shelter and food. Nicaragua, a Cuban ally, has accused Costa Rica, a pro-US country, of meddling in its "sovereignty" by providing the migrants with transit visas and demanding they be let through. "Nicaragua confirms its position of not supporting the legitimization of illegal policies," Deputy Foreign Minister Denis Moncada told the meeting. He said Nicaragua "demands the Costa Rican government take all appropriate measures to withdraw all (the Cubans) from our border zones." Moncada also blamed the United States for the situation, demanding Washington engage in "dialogue and respect" with Latin America and the Caribbean. The Cubans have made it clear their only goal is to make it into the United States, which has a longstanding policy of giving asylum to any from the Communist island that set foot on US soil. There is fear among many Cubans wanting to take refuge in America that the policy could soon be scrapped under a thaw between Washington and Havana announced nearly a year ago. With the US Coast Guard sending back Cubans found in the Florida Straits, there has been a surge in the number of Cubans trying to make the trip overland. Hundreds each week are flying to Ecuador, which does not require visas from Cubans, then make their way through Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica with the goal of moving through Nicaragua and the rest of Central America into Mexico then over the US border. They often use bribes and smugglers on the journey, but a recent crackdown on a human-trafficking ring in Costa Rica left hundreds stranded and penniless. For the Costa Rican foreign minister, the situation has become "critical," threatening to turn into "a serious humanitarian crisis in the region."