24 de noviembre 2021
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On November 22, the Ortega regime established entry into Nicaragua “visa free” for citizens of Cuba as a “humanitarian” measure to benefit Cubans with relatives in the country and others.
A resolution of the Ministry of the Interior (Migob), which came into effect this Monday, has the main objective of facilitating commercial trips and family tourism.
“Given the number of requests from Cuban citizens with relatives in Nicaragua, and in order to promote commercial exchange, tourism and humanitarian family relations, as of Monday, November 22, 2021, entry without a visa is established for all Cuban citizens who wish to enter Nicaragua,” indicated Migob.
With this decision, Cubans will no longer have to pay 17.85 dollars for a tourist visa that Nicaragua extends on the island, and which lasts for 30 days, extendable to 90 days.
Without explanation
The elimination of the visa for Cuba means that the islanders will also not need to explain the reason for travel in order to obtain permission to travel to Nicaragua.
The Nicaraguan authorities did not report whether Cubans must abide by the measures of the pandemic to enter Nicaragua, such as the negative covid-19 test with a maximum validity of three days, or the pre-check with seven days in advance.
Until before the covid-19 pandemic, it was common to see Cuban citizens crowded into the Managua International Airport, lining up to return to Havana, with multiple shopping suitcases with items to resell.
The Nicaraguan and Cuban governments have had close political relations every time the Central American country has been ruled by Daniel Ortega, first between 1979 and 1990, and then from 2007 to date.
Both countries are part of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America, which includes Bolivia, Venezuela and several other smaller Caribbean Island nations.
This article was originally published in Spanish in Confidencial and translated by Havana Times
