Borrowing a page from Hungary’s refugee playbook, Nicaraguan soldiers and riot police on Sunday used teargas, truncheons and roadblocks to repel a wave of nearly 2,000 undocumented Cuban emigrants who were trying to cross the southern border en route to the United States.

The Cubans, who had been piling up on the Costa Rican border for more than a week, were issued special safe passage visas by the Costa Rican government and given seven days to leave the country. Nicaragua, however, never signed off on the plan and refused to let the Cubans enter.



Sandinista spokeswoman and first lady Rosario Murillo released an angry statement Sunday evening blaming Costa Rica of “violating our national sovereignty” and threatening Nicaragua’s security by orchestrating the “forced entry of thousands of irregular emigrants of Cuban nationality.”



“We blame the Costa Rican government for unleashing a humanitarian crisis that will have serious consequences for our region.”
- Rosario Murillo, spokeswoman for Nicaragua's Sandinista government
The border standoff between Nicaragua and Costa Rica is the latest in a rich history of unneighborly behavior between the two countries. But more importantly, it shows how the growing influx of Cubans beating a path to the United States has the potential to quickly develop into a serious refugee crisis in the Americas.


After all, when most people think of Cubans coming to the United States, they conjure up images of people crowded on makeshift rafts paddling purposefully towards the iconic Key West buoy that’s 90 miles away. On a map it looks like a short jaunt. But as Ernest Hemingway once wrote—and as every Cuban balsero can confirm with a solemn nod—”Brother, don’t let anybody tell you there isn’t plenty of water between Havana and Key West.”

As it turns out, brother, there’s also plenty of land between the two. More than 5,000 miles of mostly unfriendly terrain, starting in South America and wending its way up the spine of Central America and through Mexico. It may seem like an implausibly long detour to freedom, but it has become the preferred course of travel for most Cubans heading to the U.S. This year two out of every three Cuban immigrants arriving in the U.S. have entered through Texas instead of Miami. And in recent months the numbers are spiking in a way that’s changing hemispheric immigration flows and exacerbating tensions along borders throughout the region.



The Cuban trail is becoming an increasingly crowded place throughout the hemisphere. Daily newspaper reports from the region chronicle the misfortunes of those who don’t make it.
•Colombia: “22 undocumented Cubans detained in Colombia.”
•Costa Rica: “3,700 illegal Cubans have passed through Costa Rica this year on their way to the U.S. this year.”
•Nicaragua: “13 Cubans and a bus driver with $1,062 in cash caught on the Nicaraguan border.”
•Honduras: “Honduras faces surge of Cubans headed to the U.S.”
•Mexico, “200 detained Cuban immigrants go on hunger strike in Mexico.”

Yet thousands more manage to wiggle through the Latin American gauntlet and arrive safely in Texas. A total of 18,397 Cubans have entered the U.S. at the Laredo border crossing in just the first nine months of this year—a 66% spike in traffic from last year, according to official U.S. data obtained by the Pew Research Center. Overall, 27,296 Cubans have entered the U.S. this year, up a whopping 78% from last year.

So why now? Why are so many Cubans suddenly decamping from their sunny isle at an historic moment that’s supposed to be filled with optimism and good cheer? After all, a public opinion poll conducted by Bendixen & Amandi and published in Fusion last April showed that 97% of on-island Cubans said they’re beamishly optimistic about their country’s improving relations with the U.S. The mood couldn’t have changed that quickly, right?

yeah!

right,why not

Fundamentally change America!

They work hard and don't blow shit up or saw heads off.

I work with about 20 of em. Good guys.

Bring em to my town.

If they're all cooperative hard working folks, then why is their country shit?

A girl who had been caught twice on a go-fast by the USCG says they have drones the size of pizza boxes on the sterns of the cutters. It looks like once they make landfall the countries of central America and Mexico don't care ands shoo them along

So far from God, so close to the United States

Communism?

Boy, it's sure getting exciting around here, eh?

Pura Vida!
!
Cuno!

I'll take Cuban refugees over Syrians ANY DAY.

How bout Haitians?

Gee, what a....coincidence.

How about NO.  How about NO MORE PEOPLE.  Let's fix our issues here in America instead of trying to fix the world's problems.

What crazy times we live in

Awesome. More fucking  people drawing welfare.

I remember when Castro dumped the Marietta Boat People off on Jimmy Carter.  They were the sh*t of Cuban society.  They hated American blacks too and thought themselves superior to them.  

Decades later when I visited Nicaragua, I learned that when Castro sent his advisers to help the Sadinistas, they were similar criminals and lowlifes and it took the Nicaraguans some time to deport them all.  

Those people (Cuban rejects) are the sh*t.  Send them to Syria and Iraq.  The Muslims will know what to do with them.

Cubans eat pork, it would be a sin to send them over there

I could be wrong but I don't think the Cubans coming here now are the same as the Cubans we got early on. I think these are the ones who will happily vote D.

I know we have some Cubans on here who will fill us in.

Still and all if you want to come to this country that's fine by me, just do it legally and when you get here don't be a burden to society. I have a deckhand on here who is from Honduras and he works his ass off everyday and is happy to be here and more patriotic that the average American. He fucking hums the Star-Spangled Banner!! He loves his home land but also very much loves his new country.

Plus he can cook like a fucking champ!

What difference does it make anymore.

Are these guys Obama approved immgranrs?

We'll see.  Doubtful.

When will Miami be in the US again?

LOL

 

As a Cuban in Miami... you have no fucking clue.


The current influx of Cubans are Socialist Leeches that don't do shit except Steal Welfare, Run Black Market Deals, and pretty much give me a bad name.


They aren't fleeing Cuba for political reasons. They aren't the Freedom Seeking Cubans like my parents. They're simply coming here because they see the US has a better economy thus better welfare benefits.


I fucking hate them all and WANT THEM OUT!


Seriously, the majority of current Cubans coming in are criminals and socialistic leeches.

Maybe we need to point our anger in the right direction: ending welfare for people who have never contributed shit. Everyone can come to the US, however, they will starve just like back home if they dont choose to do something with their lives.

Full Disclosure: Wife's family escaped Castro, however they lost everything (And they had alot before coming here).

My family lost everything including half my family to Che and Castro. My Great Grandfather was executed and my Abuelo fought in the Bay of Pigs. Trust me.... the current influx of Cubans are shit.

There's a lot of valuable shit here. The hoards are coming to take it all.

FUCK NO

 

Looks like we get both.

Commie shitbag feudalism.  No secret.

TC

I'd give my left nut for a president that would secure our borders.

A Big Beautiful Wall!!
(With thermal sentry guns)

Does their religion support jihad?

If so, then no.

Can Cubans still claim refugee status, now the are friendly again?

Sadly yes, wet foot dry foot has not been repealed. They can still came political refugee status. Right now about 30,000 Cubans in Miami are afraid of normalized relations because they would be eligible for deportation since they have committed crimes.


 

Much of my family is from Cuba.

There is not much good coming from Cuba these days. The quality people left long ago.



 

Yes, that is why they are coming more than before, they think the law will change (and it should) now that we are normalizing relations with Cuba.

As soon as Cuban gets here they automatically qualify for Food Stamps and Medicaid, and they get a several hundred dollar stipend for the first 6mo or so.

Not our people, not our problem.  Keep 'em out of America.

Octopus.

Why would anybody want to leave such a workers paradise as Cuba?

Brand new Chevys

Oh come on....even commies have some standards.....

, take some of the ones we already have, seems to me they sit around collecting checks from the .gov, buying gold chains and not speaking English for the 40 years they have been here

I trust Cubans a whole lot more than a swarm of muslim males

lol, +1

Hillary is that you?

This.

Seen this story on local news here in Miami and they showed them all chanting in Spanish "Obama help us"

I've been surprised at how many people and co workers I know that are Cuban that support Sanders. The younger generation are all liberals and leeches.

Hell no.  Got enough of em, few and far between are worth a damn. All drive toyota camrys and work in nursing homes lol

On the way out of the Keys on Monday for my annual Cold Country hunting trip I caught a bit of news on the local station 104.1.





They had an interview with the local U.S. Coast Guard head cheese who had an interesting report.  Basically the USCG had intercepted 400+ illegals on the Florida Straits (ocean) last month.  He reported that this was a substantial increase over one year ago and that the trend of illegals is coming is increasing.  Although not at the epidemic level of the Meriel Boat Lift currently the trend is more and more.  Of course these are not the "hard workers" but new members of the "FSA".





If you put this in perspective that is a lot of people for 120+ miles of shoreline.  Of course the numbers of those who made it across were not reported.  'Wet foot...Dry foot' in action.  I am on the water a lot so I've been packin my Daisy Red Ryder just in case.







 

I am taking the flag when I leave

Over Syrians? Sure.

I'd still prefer the Cubans.