Costa Rica Cuban Immigrant Crisis: Foreign Minister Manuel Gonzalez Calls for Humanitarian Corridor to Solve Border Issues with Nicaragua

Costa Rica and Nicaragua's diplomatic ties have further been strained because of the influx of Cuban migrants. Costa Rica had recently called for the creation of a "humanitarian corridor" for the Cuban migrants making their way across Central America on their way to the United States as numbers continue to rise at the border in Nicaragua.

Foreign Minister Manuel Gonzalez said that a solution must be made for the Cuban migrants. The Cubans are being barred by Nicaraguan soldiers from entering the country.

"We have to do something with them, give them a solution. They want to continue. Even though a government sends the army after a peaceful migrant population, they are going to find a way to go." Gonzalez said in a report with US News.

Nicaragua had served as a receiving country for Cuban migrants detained in Costa Rica in the past. The Central American country had recently stopped opening the country to Cuban migrants on Friday, Nov. 13. Nicaragua had rejected 100 Cubans that were deported from Costa Rica.

Just this Sunday, Nicaraguan soldiers had confronted Cuban migrants, numbering around the several hundred. These migrants had tried to cross the border illegally and were met with tear gas, which resulted in many injuries. Many Cuban migrants have found themselves to be in limbo, a report with The Tico Times said.

Cuban Migrants then blocked the Inter-American Highway on Tuesday as a sign of protest to the Nicaraguans who refuse them passage into the country.

As of the moment, the 700 Cuban migrants have taken refuge at five established shelters from the National Emergency Commission, Costa Rican Red Cross, International Organization for Migration and U.N. High Commission on Refugees in La Cruz and at Peñas Blancas. According to reports, the Ombudsman's Office has confirmed that living conditions in he temporary shelters are sanitary and acceptable.

President Luis Guillermo Solís added in an official statement that Costa Rica is making it a priority to provide assistance to the Cuban migrants. He added that the Costa Rican government are committed making sure that their basic needs of the Cuban migrants are provided for while waiting for the entrance to Nicaragua be granted.

While there are many reports of Cuban migrants who have chosen to enter U.S. by way of crossing the seas, sometimes on makeshift rafts. Many of these Cuban migrants are returned to the island once they have been intercepted by the U.S. coastguard. Cubans are only allowed to enter the U.S. if they reach the U.S. mainland.

The U.S. Coast Guard Captain Mark Fedor added that using rafts to make their way to the United States is not only illegal, but dangerous, as well. He added that the rafts were not built to sail across the sea.