Nicaragua returns more than 500 migrants without authorization

The Nicaraguan Army detained and returned to Costa Rica 528 migrants without documents to be in the country and who come from different nations. They apparently entered without authorization from the neighboring southern nation, the military entity said in a statement on Thursday.

The report noted that the migrants came from countries in Africa, Asia, South America, the Caribbean, Central America and Europe, and were returned between March 10 and 30 after entering Nicaragua “through non-authorized steps” (blind spots) from the Costa Rican border.

“The illegal migrants were rejected to the country of origin (Costa Rica)” through an operation in which members of the Southern Military Detachment and the Fourth Regional Military Command participated, the statement said.

The southern border of Nicaragua is a frequent passage for people who use the territory of Central America as a “bridge” to cross clandestinely into Mexico and the United States, because they do not have legal entry permits.

According to the Army, between January 1 and March 10, soldiers from the institution detained and expelled 1,166 foreigners without authorization.

The report added that the migrant retention operations are part of the strategy known as the “Containment Wall,” through which the Army intercepts people involved in drug trafficking and organized crime.

At the beginning of last March, the Nicaraguan authorities reported the discovery of six dead African migrants, apparently due to dehydration, in the Cayo Las Palomas sector, in Bluefields, South Caribbean.

In 2016, thousands of Africans and Haitians gathered at the border with Costa Rica with the aim of crossing into Nicaragua. The refusal of the government of Daniel Ortega to allow them the passage caused them to be stranded for several weeks in the north of Costa Rica.