Updated 03:14 AM EDT, Fri, Mar 29, 2024

Ecuador Regulates Wave of U.S.-Bound Cubans with Visa Requirement

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A day after Ecuador announced that Cubans would need visas for them to enter the country starting Dec. 1, hundreds of residents from Cuba gathered at the Ecuadorian embassy on Friday to express their opposition to the recent travel requirement.

Reuters said Cubans expressed their anger as they waived their passport and plane tickets at the gates of the embassy demanding that the money they spent for buying tickets prior to the Ecuadorian policy be reimbursed to them.

It noted that a diplomat from the embassy talked to the protesters and informed them that they would need to get a 90-day tourist visa online and then discuss refunds with their airiness.

"Now they are saying we can't travel to Ecuador because of the Cubans who are skipping out. That's not our fault!," said 51-year-old, Ivan Balera in the Reuters report, noting that he already paid more than $1,000 for his plane ticket.

According to The New York Times, about 200 people gathered at the Ecuadorian embassy on Friday, questioning who will pay back their expenses on plane tickets.

The Ecuadorian embassy has announced earlier that the website for visa application is already running and that Cubans can coordinate with their airlines to change their tickets if their visas will not be processed on time.

"Governments can't intervene in commercial policies... However... we are aware that the airlines are willing to issue refunds," said Ecuadorean Consul, Soraya Blanca Encalada, in the Reuters report.

Meanwhile, Ecuadorian Deputy Foreign Minister, Xavier Lasso, said that Cubans will always be welcome in their country. He noted that the measure was just a way to "prevent violations of human rights and even loss of life."

However, Cubans have expressed concern over the lack of information dissemination and the online applications, since most have them do not have Internet access.

"They haven't told us anything. They changed it all from one day to the next," said 25-year Yasell Zayas Salinas in the Skift report. The candy seller was planning a trip to Ecuador together with his brother.

The Daily Observer noted that thousands of Cubans go to Ecuador yearly to buy goods which they sell in their country. It added that there are also those who cross the borders then end up escaping punishment since they already become residents.

The same report noted that the number of Cubans entering the United States through Ecuador also rose because of fears that their residency in the country will not allow them to enjoy privileges previously granted.

It has been estimated that about 35,000 Cubans crossed the border from October last year to August 2015 because people believed that new visa rules would aim to ease the crisis involving the 2,00 Cubans stranded between Costa Rica and Nicaragua since the latter closed its border in October.

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