HAVANA, Cuba, Nov 28 (acn) Starting from December 1st, Cubans wishing to enter Ecuador will require a tourist visa, according to the announcement made on Thursday in Quito by Deputy Foreign Minister Xavier Lasso.
From the Ecuadorian capital, news sources agree that the measure is due to efforts to cut illegal migratory flow to the United States, which had Ecuador as one of its points of departure.
Lasso clarified that "doors are not being closed to Cubans," but explained in a press conference that the measure seeks "to stem the migratory tendency that puts in danger men, women and children," encouraged by the so-called Cuban Adjustment Act, which gives immediate residence to Cuban citizens who manage to step on U.S. soil.
The Prensa Latina news agency refers that the official informed that the request for visa was the commitment adopted by Ecuador at the meeting of Central American Foreign Ministers held in San Salvador on Tuesday, in which representatives of the governments of Cuba, Mexico and Colombia were also present to analyze the problems the over 3,000 Cubans now aground on Costa Rican soil in transit for the United States represents.
I wouldn't like the external reading on the meeting in San Salvador to be that it was a failure; we made progress at that meeting, even Ecuador committed itself to making a contribution to the region, pointed out Lasso.
The Ecuadorian diplomat urged the United States to suspend certain migratory policies, such as the "wet feet, dry feet" policy and the one that encourages the defection of health professionals from the Caribbean nation.
He stated that the request for visas to Cubans does not mean that Ecuador renounces the universal citizenship expressed in its Constitution; it is a temporary measure, he said.
Cuban citizens will always be welcome to the country, added Lasso, who explained that starting from December 1st citizens of the Caribbean nation who wish to enter Ecuador as tourists should register on the website www.consuladovirtual.gob.ec, and fill the form of tourist validation.
Once applicants complete that procedure, which is free, they must again enter the Web site to apply for a 12-X tourist visa, which will cost 30 U.S. dollars.
When asked about the Cubans who are in Costa Rica, Ecuador's deputy foreign minister said that the meeting of El Salvador agreed to give them assistance and protection in view of the position of vulnerability in the hands of traffickers.
More than three thousand Cubans who attempt to reach the United States have been in Costa Rica for more than a week now after they began their journey in Ecuador, where they arrive by air and from there depart for the United States by land, getting around a great many obstacles.
The Cuban Foreign Ministry has reiterated that these Cubans who are now in Costa Rica can return home if they so desire, while the embassy in Costa Rican territory has given legal support to those who have needed it and it's in constant contact with the group.
In the context of this complex situation, Cuba has reiterated the willingness of the island of a safe, organized and legal migration.
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