Jamaica will begin requiring Cubans to apply for visas to travel through the country, potentially shutting a key migratory route for people trying to leave the communist island.
(Bloomberg) — Jamaica will begin requiring Cubans to apply for visas to travel through the country, potentially shutting a key migratory route for people trying to leave the communist island.
Starting March 13, Cubans will need to apply for transit visas, Jamaica’s Ministry of National Security said on its Twitter page.
Currently, Cubans are allowed to spend three days in Jamaica without seeking prior permission. That provision had turned Kingston into a springboard for Cubans trying to make it to continental America — often Nicaragua — and then make their way overland to the US.
In November, National Security Minister Horace Chang told the Jamaica Gleaner the government was concerned about the number of Cubans using Jamaica to “to transit to Nicaragua and then on to the United States through the southern border.”
The ministry on Wednesday did not respond to requests for additional information about the new policy.
The move comes as the Biden Administration has been imposing additional rules and restrictions amid a surge in migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
Read more: Biden eyes new rules to deter border crossings after Title 42
The US stopped or deported 224,607 Cubans in fiscal year 2022 — up 471% versus the previous fiscal year — and the highest number in decades, according to US Customs and Border Protection data.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.