Cuba-U.S. Relations: Cuban Foreign Ministry Blames the United States for Surge in Cuban Migrants

Cuban foreign ministries have blamed U.S. policies for the surge in migration from the communist country to the U.S. According to the Cuban foreign ministry, U.S. laws which date back to the Cold War period had encouraged the rise in illegal immigration.

According to a report with BBC, around 2,000 Cuban migrants remain stranded on the border between the two Central American countries -- Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Both Central American neighbors are currently having border disputes, which was further strained by the influx of Cuban migrants.

While many of the Cubans want to enter the U.S., Nicaragua has denied them entry since Sunday. Nicaragua, which is a close ally of Cuba accused its Central American neighbour of dumping the Cuban migrants on them, saying that Costa Rica has sparked a 'humanitarian crisis.'

The long period of waiting has caused many migrants to believe that they are in 'limbo', with Nicaragua being the only thing stopping them from entering the United States. 

Cuba has said that those who left the Carribean island legally were welcome to come back, though many of those have no desire of coming back. 

Many of these Cubans have travelled from Cuba to Ecuador, which does not require Cubans to secure a temporary visa. From there, the migrants have headed north through Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica until they were denied entry by Nicaragua.

According to a report with Reuters, Cuba said it was working with the Central American governments involved to find a solution for the Cuban migration crisis. The Cuban foreign ministry also said that its people were victims of human trafficking and many of them had already fallen prey to criminal groups which targeted migrants.

Cuba has a long-standing complaint of the U.S. law, known as the Cuban Adjustment Act. The Cuban foreign ministry said that the "wet-foot, dry-foot" policy was responsible for luring Cubans on what is to be a dangerous journey.

The policy allows Cubans who arrive at the U.S. border to stay in the country, while those who are captured entering the U.S. by sea, are sent back to Cuba.

There has been an influx in Cuban migrants who left  the Communist nation since the Cuban government announced a "thaw" in diplomatic relations with the U.S. in December. 

Many Cubans feared that with U.S.-Cuban ties becoming even closer, there was a chance that the Cuban Adjustment Act might be abolished.