The company Air Century, based in the Dominican Republic, suspended flights from Cuba to Nicaragua after the recent announcement of sanctions by the United States government for charter companies that facilitate illegal migration.
This week the US imposed visa restrictions under the Immigration Law (INA) “against the owners, executives and senior officials of companies that offer charter flights to Nicaragua designed to be used primarily by irregular migrants to the United States,” said a statement from the State Department.
That entity clarified that it would be just the beginning of a series of measures against charter flight companies that “have been offering flights – and charging extortion prices – that put migrants on a dangerous land route north to the border.” with the United States.”
The channel Telemundo 51 interviewed a Cuban woman who said that the airline canceled his flight permanently.
“The world fell on me today. There have been two times (they canceled me) and this time, it was final,” said the interviewee from Cuba, who had everything ready to fly to Nicaragua and begin her journey to the southern border of the United States. US
The commercial vice president of the airline confirmed the suspension of operations, pointing out that the decision was linked to the State Department’s announcement to cancel visas for those responsible for airline companies that operate flights between Cuba and Nicaragua.
According to the State Department, charter company planes leave the island full of people and return without passengers, which shows that this is an action to transport immigrants.
Immigration lawyer Jesús Novo, from the Gallardo Law Firm, highlighted that this type of flights represents the beginning of the migratory chain, since they are the source of migrants who cross Central America to reach the southern border of the United States.
According to Telemundo 51, most of these flights originate in South Florida, where travel agencies sell tickets and hire charter airline services to cover the route at prices that have been lower since 2021, when Nicaragua eliminated the visa requirement for Cubans. , have reached up to $4,000 per ticket.
It is feared that airlines like Conviasa, which are still making trips to Nicaragua, will raise ticket prices even further, in the context of the worst migration crisis that the island is going through.
