Costa Rica's President Assures U.S.-Bound Cubans That They Will Not be Forced to Return Home

About 5,000 migrants from Cuba were stranded in Central America after trying to reach the United States. Fortunately, the president of Costa Rica, Luis Guillermo Solis, is allowing the immigrants to stay in his country.

According to CNN, it has been a month since the Cubans were left stranded in Central America because Nicaragua and Guatemala wouldn't allow them to cross their countries. They were all staying in a refugee camp provided by the government, who were provided food and drinks in San Ramon.

However, Cubans still feel hopeless and desperate as they continue to look for ways to escape their poor situation. Armando Quesada, a migrant from San Ramos, said that they don't have many options left for them to choose.

"Being smuggled by traffickers is not what we wanted, but we've been seriously considering that alternative since last night," he said. In fact, they were all scattered in the country and the biggest number of immigrants were in La Cruz, in the province of Guanacaste.

Fortunately, Huffington Post noted that the Costa Rica president promised the migrants that no one will be asked to leave his country and return to Cuba if they don't want to. The 57-year-old state leader released a recorded video message after the Belize's government refused to accept Costa Rica's request to help the Cubans get back to their country.

Belize confirmd that they would only help them "within the regional arrangement." "Like you, I feel very disappointed that Guatemala, as well as Belize, have denied passage through their territory to arrive in Mexico and from there continue on to your destination in the United States," Solis said.

However, the president promised everyone that he would do his very best to look for other ways to help the immigrants. The migrants were originally going to the U.S. via South and Central American countries.

Now, the Cubans are afraid that the good relations between Cuba and the U.S. will be affected and could end the special privilege the foreign country was giving them. Havana Times added that the immigrants will be the number one priority of President Solis, who has plans to visit Cuba in the upcoming week, a source told DPA.

The head of state was set to go to Havana on Dec. 13 for a two-day visit to have a meeting with Cuban President, Raul Castro. Foreign Minister, Manuel Gonzalez, said that President Solis will try to have President Castro communicate with other countries, like Ecuador and Nicaragua, that have been affected by the migrants, to help solve the problem.

Watch the stranded Cuban migrants by AFP News Agency.