The journey to America, often via Nicaragua, has become more viable – and many are taking their chances at the border
. Legal avenues to leave were scant; government inspectors would make an inventory of people’s possessions – even counting up the cutlery – before granting exit visas.
That changed last November when Daniel Ortega’s government allowed Cubans to travel visa-free to Nicaragua . This has created a land bridge to the US for wealthier Cubans – those with a car or a house to sell, or with family on the outside. They can now buy a $4,000 one-way ticket to Managua and then make their way overland to the southern border.
Rafael Hernández, editor of the state-linked social science journal Temas, said obtaining US permanent residence under the Cuban Adjustment Act is simple.But the journey is by no means without risk: experts say Cubans are among the nationalities most likely to getwhen nearing the Mexican side of the border. Criminal groups know that they will have paid thousands to get this close, and most likely have family in the US to fork out a ransom.
Their plan was to reunite with her grandmother in Jacksonville, Florida, by crossing the border near the city of Mexicali. For $21,000 a “coyote” had arranged for them to walk into the US by waiting for the sluice gates to close before crossing a dam with their three- and five-year-old daughters.
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