The United States government implemented a new round of visa restrictions against charter flight operators who continue to travel to Nicaragua, this to transport potential migrants from countries such as Cuba and Haiti.
The spokesperson for the Department of State (DOE), Matthew Miller, indicated that the owners, executives and senior officials of several charter flight companies that travel to Nicaragua entered a “list” on February 21, 2024. black”, which will prevent them from being granted a visa to enter the US, whether for tourism or business reasons.
This sanction corresponds with Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
The measure is an update that expands and replaces the Nicaragua 3C policy on charter flights, which was initially implemented in November 2023. According to Miller, the United States is committed to holding charter, land and maritime transportation operators accountable. that facilitate irregular migration and endanger the lives of these people.
While the official DOE statement does not share the names of the sanctioned individuals, nor the entities to which they belong, being on the blacklist means that they will not be able to issue a visa to enter the United States.
The objective of this sanction is to establish a lesson for those who carry out “exploitative practices” on migrants, who have the goal of reaching the United States no matter how dangerous the journey may be.
These people are usually exposed to risks such as difficult terrain to navigate, assaults, rapes, kidnappings and extortion by human traffickers, which is why the US considers that the companies that facilitate the initial section are taking advantage of the migrants’ desperation and putting them in danger. danger.
Similar sanctions were announced in November last yearDue to this, the owners, executives and senior officials of charter flight companies to Nicaragua began to reduce their offer, affecting the market.
Flights operated by Mexican airlines from countries such as Cuba and Haiti were suspended, and now require a transit visa for citizens of these nations.
As a consequence, emigrating has become very difficult for some of the people who were preparing to undertake the journey. It is important to note that the sanctions did not prevent airlines such as Conviasa and Aruba Airlines from continuing their operations to Nicaragua, but their prices have increased considerably due to the law of supply and demand.
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