Biden administration issues warning to those involved in Nicaragua-bound migrant flights

Source: Miami Herald

Biden administration issues warning to those involved in Nicaragua-bound migrant flights

Jacqueline Charles, Syra Ortiz Blanes
Mon, November 6, 2023 at 5:06 PM EST·4 min read

The Biden administration on Monday warned those involved in a new migration scheme to help Cubans, Haitians and other asylum seekers reach the United States by flying expensive charter planes to Central America that they risk the wrath of U.S. law.

Brian Nichols, assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere, said he is concerned by reports of a dramatic increase in Nicaragua-bound charter flights carrying Haitians, Cubans and others migrants who, with the help of traffickers, make their way to Mexico with the hope of entering the U.S.

By flying directly into the Augusto C. Sandino International Airport in Managua, migrants have been able to bypass the Darién Gap, the dangerous stretch of jungle separating Colombia and Panama, and get around U.S. asylum restrictions.

Last week, the Miami Herald and independent Nicaraguan media outlet and partner La Prensa reported that tens of thousands of Haitians had made the trip since August, paying as much as $4,000 for a one-way ticket from Port-au-Prince to Managua. Hours after the Herald’s report, the government of Haiti announced the suspension of all Nicaragua-bound flights. But the head of Haiti’s National Office of Civil Aviation, Laurent Joseph Dumas, has told local media that the shutdown is only temporary to allow for better organization, and the flights will soon resume.

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Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/biden-administration-issues-warning-those-220640017.html