Up to 6,000 Cubans have been deported from the United States without their documents to the state of Chiapas in recent weeks, according to unofficial figures, through an unsigned agreement between the Mexican and U.S. governments.
The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) stated in its latest report that “thousands of foreigners have been deported to southern Mexico,” but neither the U.S. nor Mexican governments have released official figures.
“Between March and mid-April, 3,000 Cubans were deported to Tapachula,” local media reported.
When deported to Chiapas, the United States confiscates their documents, leaving the Cubans without identification to seek employment, attempt to leave the country, or receive remittances from relatives still in the United States.
A recent decision by U.S. authorities is worsening the situation for Cubans in Tapachula and other cities in Chiapas by blocking remittances to Cubans abroad.
“I had never lived on the streets before,” a Cuban deportee in Chiapas told a Cuban media outlet abroad, in a statement that encapsulates the plight of deportees.
With shelters full, deportees are living and sleeping on the streets. Sending Cubans to southern Mexico is not due to a lack of diplomatic relations with Havana, as the U.S. sent its first plane to Cuba two months ago with 271 deportees.
Source: excelsior
