MIGRATION-CUBA: No Stopover Too Far If Miami Is Final Destination

By Dalia Acosta Reprint | | Print |

Dalia Acosta

HAVANA, Feb 8 2002 (IPS) - The southeastern U.S. city of Miami continues to be the objective of most of the Cubans who seek to emigrate, though fate often takes them first to Mexico or to such faraway destinations as Moscow or Madrid.

“My two brothers have been in Miami for more than 20 years. My son won’t have any problems there,” said a woman, 69, who gave her name as Carmen Pérez. Her son left Cuba more than three months ago on a flight to Moscow, but stayed in Madrid – where the flight makes a layover – and is there awaiting the chance to make the final “jump” to Miami.

“We thought it was going to be much easier. We had everything arranged for him to continue his journey to Miami, but he has not been able to leave Spain. I am very worried,” says Pérez, who refused to reveal her son’s identify or the details of his plans.

“I don’t want to cause him any problems,” she said.

Pérez’s son was travelling with two friends. They all intended to continue their trip to Miami, the largest city in the state of Florida and, counting the surrounding areas, home to 780,000 people of Cuban origin, including immigrants and their descendants.

It was not the first time Pérez’s son tried to leave the socialist-run island. He and his friends had once bought a boat with an outboard motor, but it was confiscated by the police. On another occasion, they paid an intermediary who promised to take them to Miami via Panama, but they were swindled out of their money.

To reach Miami was also the plan of a married couple that IPS interviewed in January. The two had everything ready for the Havana-Moscow flight, with the intention of staying in Madrid. “It’s much safer than going by sea,” said the woman, 34.

For many years, Cubans who wanted to emigrate to the United States but who did not have a chance of obtaining an entry visa faced only one option: the dangerous sea journey across the Florida Straits.

But in 2000 the number of Cubans arriving in the United States by air began to rise. They generally carry false documents and have spent a brief time in a third country on the way to the U.S. destination.

It is estimated that 800 to 1,000 Cubans emigrate illegally to the United States every year by crossing the Mexican border or on international flights. Washington, meanwhile, has granted more than 150,000 visas to Cubans since September 1994.

In June 2001, Havana protested the decision of the U.S. federal court based in the eastern state of Virginia to recognise the residency rights of some 3,000 undocumented Cubans who had entered the country by air.

Early last year, around a hundred Cubans reached Miami on a flight that had made a stopover in Chile. And in December, some 300 could be found at the Barajas airport, outside Madrid, awaiting word on their migration status.

Leaving Cuba on the Havana-Moscow flight, with a stop in Madrid, turns out to be one of the least complicated and cheapest ways to reach the United States illegally – though there is a great deal of uncertainty about what will happen once the emigrants reach the Spanish capital, according to testimonies heard by IPS.

Generally, those who try to leave Cuba without legal authorisation pay 7,000 to 8,000 dollars each to traffickers, and make the unsafe trip across the Florida Straits in a speedboat – and carry false passports.

“The Russian route is much better because a visa is not required and it isn’t difficult to find a Russian who will write a letter of invitation in exchange for 200 dollars,” explains Pérez. “My son spent 1,500 dollars, more or less.”

Russia is one of the few countries that maintains its visa exception agreement for Cuban citizens. In most cases, Havana signed such accords to facilitate travel by diplomatic or official personnel only.

As a result, Cubans who intend to leave the island using the trip to Russia need only a letter of invitation – which can be obtained through contacts made by Russians residing in Cuba -, an exit permit from the Cuban migration authorities, and a round-trip ticket.

Once in Madrid, the emigrants apply for political asylum, but they are usually given only refugee status – but this still prevents extradition to Cuba.

“The day after his arrival in Madrid, my son received a visit from an attorney hired by my brothers in Miami, which should have ensured the continuation of his trip. But he is stranded in Madrid, and we have no friends there,” said Pérez.

Economic troubles, the desire to be with family, and discrepancy with the socialist regime of President Fidel Castro are the main reasons mentioned by Cubans who seek to emigrate, according to several studies.

Awaiting them in Miami, in most cases, is support from family and friends, a job, and a chance at economic prosperity, which could allow them to help their loved ones who remained in Cuba, or even pay their way to join the rest of the family.

According to the 2000 census, there are some 1.3 million Cubans in the United States, counting immigrants and their descendants. Consulate officials in Havana, meanwhile, receive more than 400 visa applications each day.

An estimated 130,000 Cubans reside in other Latin American countries, 37,000 in Europe, and 1,000 in the rest of the world, according to the Centre for International Migration Studies (CEMI), at the University of Havana.

Those who opt to emigrate to other countries within Latin America, or to Europe, are usually professionals, particularly those in the cultural sphere, who obtain a job contract outside of Cuba, which facilitates official permission to reside abroad.