Cubans Hold a Vigil at the Mexican Embassy in Ecuador to Ask for Humanitarian Visas

Cubans Hold a Vigil at the Mexican Embassy in Ecuador to Ask for
Humanitarian Visas / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 13 June 2016 –Hundreds of Cubans held a
vigil Sunday night outside the Mexican embassy in Ecuador to ask Mexico
to grant them humanitarian visas that would allow them to continue their
journey to the United States.

The event, attended by Cuban migrants from various parts of the country,
had been called a week earlier by the former deputy to Cuba's National
Assembly of People's Power, Peter Borges. Organizers estimated that some
700 people participated in the vigil, despite the fact that, according
to Borges, early morning temperatures dropped to 50 degrees in Quito.

In the morning, they delivered letters address to Mexican president
Enrique Peña Nieto requesting an airlift similar to those established by
Costa Rica and Panama. The airlift would evacuate thousands of
undocumented Cubans in Ecuador which, according to them, total about
5,000 people.

Cubans camped in tents outside the embassy and hung murals with photos
of those presumed missing in illegal crossings to reach the United
States through the Colombian and Central American jungles.

At the vigil there was also a collection of humanitarian aid for Cubans
who are in distress or poverty, which will be distributed through
recently structured mechanisms.

The migrants also wanted to show their solidarity with their more than
300 compatriots stranded in Turbo, Colombia. The mayor of that town,
Alejandro Abuchar, said, "As of now, there is nothing new to report on
the status of the Cubans. They should leave the country and continue
their journey and no exceptions will be made."

Several of those stranded in Turbo report that they have fevers and the
flu but, according to ombudsman William Gonzalez, health authorities of
the municipality maintain that it is a common flu and that their lives
are not in danger.

Source: Cubans Hold a Vigil at the Mexican Embassy in Ecuador to Ask for
Humanitarian Visas / 14ymedio – Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/cubans-hold-a-vigil-at-the-mexican-embassy-in-ecuador-to-ask-for-humanitarian-visas-14ymedio/