down its border and violently deported hundreds of migrants who had managed to cross into its territory. Cubans are in a hurry to arrive in the United States because they believe the Cuban Adjustment Act, which grants them permanent residence and benefits, could undergo changes following the normalization of relations between Washington and Havana.

After Nicaragua shut down and militarized its southern border, Costa Rica accused Ortega of creating a “humanitarian” crisis. Nicaragua responded by accusing its neighbor of “breaching its national sovereignty.”

In the meantime, Costa Rican migration authorities issued 3,037 temporary visas to those Cubans who arrived by land, most of them from Ecuador. Some 2,000 migrants are temporarily living in Costa Rican shelters.

Costa Rican authorities have proposed that Latin American nations create a humanitarian corridor from Ecuadorto Mexico to guarantee the safe transit of Cuban migrants. In the meantime, they have set up 11 shelters, donated books, and organized concerts so that the Cuban travelers can “leave behind some of the stress that they endured throughout their continental journey.”

According to the US Customs and Border Protection office, 31,000 Cuban migrants have left the island between October 2014 and September 30, 2015. This marks a 30-percent increase compared to the same period between 2013 and 2014.

Meanwhile, the Mexican National Migration Institute reported that some 9,100 Cubans have transited through Mexico in 2015.

In Costa Rica, authorities cracked down on a human-trafficking ring that helped Cubans cross the country after a long journey from Ecuador via Colombia and Panama. According to local media, each migrant must pay