More than 250 immigrants remain unmoving on the border between Panama and Costa Rica, where both countries have stationed a police contingent and decided not to allow entry to Cuban immigrants and immigrants of other nationalities, who have been in the line known as the brotherhood between the two countries.
Citizens of countries such as Nepal, Somalia, Burkina Faso and Mali remain unmoving on the road on the border between these two countries, once Panama decided to create a police front in the area of migration of this country and Costa Rica followed this action, making these migrants stand in the middle of two police fences.
According to some of these immigrants, they have already had reached the canton or province of Peña Blanca, bordering area between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, when they realized the latter kept the border closed and that they had decided not to allow them entry.
As a result, the Costa Rican authorities decided to transport them on different buses to the migration offices on the Paso Canoas border.
"We had a shorter distance to travel to reach the United States, we were already on the border with Costa Rica and they did not allow our entry. “Now we are in the middle of the two countries, we have no money, we just have the clothes we are wearing, we have even been made to confront the police in Costa Rica who before bringing us here has hit us, please, we just want to get to the United States", said one of these Africans.
Rafael Ángel, in the police zone of Costa Rica, said that these immigrants have been sent to Panama since this is the country through which they entered and is the one which must take measures around these Africans, and not Costa Rica, he added that it is an immigration issue, in which the laws of this country are clear and a person with an irregular immigration status cannot remain in Costa Rican territory.
Meanwhile, Alfredo Córdoba, of the migration office in Paso Canoas, said that the human rights enshrined in international conventions are being breached, since this country has been characterized by a humane treatment to migrants, but the attitude of Costa Rica is worrisome, since through some videos these Africans have voiced the way they were transferred from this country's border with Nicaragua on at least six buses in the early hours of the morning of this Friday, where once they were left a few meters from the border with Panama, they were asked to move to Panamanian soil, which violates all international conventions which speak about non-refoulement of persons in irregular transit.
"There is no document that states that these people crossed through Panama, in immigration laws it is indicated that if these people came through Panama, there must be a migration seal, which these immigrants are not holding and, therefore, we are not to be regarded as responsible", said Cordoba.
Citizens of countries such as Nepal, Somalia, Burkina Faso and Mali remain unmoving on the road on the border between these two countries, once Panama decided to create a police front in the area of migration of this country and Costa Rica followed this action, making these migrants stand in the middle of two police fences.
According to some of these immigrants, they have already had reached the canton or province of Peña Blanca, bordering area between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, when they realized the latter kept the border closed and that they had decided not to allow them entry.
As a result, the Costa Rican authorities decided to transport them on different buses to the migration offices on the Paso Canoas border.
"We had a shorter distance to travel to reach the United States, we were already on the border with Costa Rica and they did not allow our entry. “Now we are in the middle of the two countries, we have no money, we just have the clothes we are wearing, we have even been made to confront the police in Costa Rica who before bringing us here has hit us, please, we just want to get to the United States", said one of these Africans.
Rafael Ángel, in the police zone of Costa Rica, said that these immigrants have been sent to Panama since this is the country through which they entered and is the one which must take measures around these Africans, and not Costa Rica, he added that it is an immigration issue, in which the laws of this country are clear and a person with an irregular immigration status cannot remain in Costa Rican territory.
Meanwhile, Alfredo Córdoba, of the migration office in Paso Canoas, said that the human rights enshrined in international conventions are being breached, since this country has been characterized by a humane treatment to migrants, but the attitude of Costa Rica is worrisome, since through some videos these Africans have voiced the way they were transferred from this country's border with Nicaragua on at least six buses in the early hours of the morning of this Friday, where once they were left a few meters from the border with Panama, they were asked to move to Panamanian soil, which violates all international conventions which speak about non-refoulement of persons in irregular transit.
"There is no document that states that these people crossed through Panama, in immigration laws it is indicated that if these people came through Panama, there must be a migration seal, which these immigrants are not holding and, therefore, we are not to be regarded as responsible", said Cordoba.