Nicaragua-Costa Rica Ties Strained by Influx of Cuban Migrants Trying to Enter the U.S.

Diplomatic ties between Nicaragua and Costa Rica have been further strained as Nicaragua had announced that it was closing its doors on Cuban migrants who are attempting to reach the U.S. by way of Central America on Sunday. Nicaragua has reportedly been beset with thousands of migrants at the southern borders after Costa Rica had earlier granted seven-day transit visas to over 1,700 Cubans who were earlier detained for entering the country by way of Panama on Saturday.

In an official statement, Nicaragua which is an ally of Cuba had asked for aid from "international organisations responsible to deal urgently with this complaint". In a report with The World Weekly, Nicaragua had accused Costa Rica of creating what was called a "humanitarian crisis". by breaching its diplomatic ties by allowing the entry of illegal Cuban migrants into Nicaragua along the border and further promoting the forced entry of Cuban citizens, who were previously detained, turned over to the proper authorities and returned to Costa Rica.

Yahoo reported that Nicaragua's military had increased border security to prevent further crossings by Cuban migrants. Furthermore, Managua's United Nations ambassador, Maria Rubiales, had also accused Costa Rica of "violating our sovereignty".

Foreign Minister Manuel Gonzalez. in return had accused Nicaragua of "political exploitation" on the part of the Cubans. Gonzalez said that Nicaragua was using the Cuban migrants as scapegoat to distract the current border dispute between the neighboring countries. He added that a "strong protest" was already sent to Managua.

The website also said that Costa Rica currently sees an influx of 300 Cuban migrants a day and this flow reportedly keeps a "constant pace". The military standoff between both nations has already continued to strain ties which were already complicated because of border disputes.

Diplomatic relations between Costa Rica and Nicaragua further risk plummeting to an all-time low. The severed ties have not seen this much tension since 1979 when Sandinista rebels overthrew the U.S.-backed Nicaraguan government and has since then installed Daniel Ortega as the country's elected president back in 2007.

Around 1,000 of the Cuban migrants have already ended up massed on the Costa Rican side of the border. Many of these migrants are left penniless and without the necessary documents. 

Although being threatened with dangers such as deportation and being barred once again, the Cuban migrants say they that they will only remain resilient in making their way to the U.S. They added that going back home to Cuba and an uncertain future is never an option.