{"id":255496,"date":"2022-07-19T19:46:34","date_gmt":"2022-07-19T23:46:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=255496"},"modified":"2022-07-19T19:46:34","modified_gmt":"2022-07-19T23:46:34","slug":"nothing-moves-the-panamanian-embassy-in-cuba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/nothing-moves-the-panamanian-embassy-in-cuba\/","title":{"rendered":"Nothing moves the Panamanian Embassy in Cuba"},"content":{"rendered":"

Any user who visits the Facebook <\/span>official profile<\/span><\/a> of the Embassy of Panama in Cuba<\/a> will immediately perceive that the most recent procedures of its consulate have made Cubans feel nothing short of betrayed. The reactions of hundreds of Internet users on the island to the publications of almost all this 2022, and even a little earlier, in the institution\u2019s profile are a sign of this.<\/span><\/p>\n

The history of the Panamanian diplomatic venue and Cubans had its \u201cdays of glory.\u201d But they are now a shadow of the past. Between what was lived a few years ago and the most recent experience, the contrast is undeniable.<\/span><\/p>\n

From Tourist Card to Transit Visa: two sides of the same coin<\/b><\/p>\n

The very famous Tourist Card to travel from Cuba to Panama was <\/span>established<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in October 2018 by then Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela. Through a government decree, his administration made the entry of Cuban citizens who traveled to make purchases or visits to his country more flexible.<\/span><\/p>\n

To acquire the document, it was only enough to show the applicant\u2019s identification as a self-employed worker at the Consulate or demonstrate that he\/she had previously traveled to the Central American nation, or to a third country. In addition, it was required to have a round trip ticket to Cuba. The Card authorized only one entry, but allowed a stay of 30 calendar days, and cost 20 dollars (CUC, then in force).<\/span><\/p>\n

Under the Varela administration, Panama changed its immigration policy towards Cuba, whose nationals had to go through a cumbersome and time-consuming approval process to receive a tourist visa, which was made more flexible with the so-called \u201cstamp,\u201d granted by the accredited consul in Cuba, and that continues to this day.<\/span><\/p>\n

Through the Tourist Card, tens of thousands of Cubans traveled to the Panamanian isthmus, basically \u2014 although not as the only reason \u2014 to buy all kinds of merchandise that they could later resell for up to four times their price on the island.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those who traveled to make purchases invested millions of dollars there. Re-exports to Cuba from the Colon Free Zone (ZLC) <\/span>totaled<\/span><\/a>\u00a0335.5 million dollars in 2018 alone, the year in which 34,500 Cubans entered the ZLC between January and September. But somehow it was a win-win situation.<\/span><\/p>\n

To apply for the Card, those interested stood in a physical queue for several hours outside the venue, but they were seen to during the day. The queue could gather hundreds of people in a single day, because the document was in high demand.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the exhausting and seemingly endless queues, practically no one was denied the Tourist Card, and in one day the process was resolved.<\/span><\/p>\n

But in March 2021 this document <\/span>was eliminated<\/span><\/a>. Since then and to this day, the provisions and procedures have gone from bad to worse for Cubans.<\/span><\/p>\n

The imposition of the transit visa, for an indefinite time, came only a year after the suspension of the Tourist Card. Unforeseen, arbitrary and without concessions, it was established to make it difficult for nationals to travel to that country.<\/span><\/p>\n

Executive Decree No. 19 published on March 8, 2022 in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Panama, <\/span>provided<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that every Cuban citizen or crew member needs a transit visa to make a stopover in the country, either to fly to another territory or return to Cuba.<\/span><\/p>\n

For the residents of the island, this was a bucket of cold water. Since the time of the Tourist Card, Panama was part of the route of hundreds of Cubans on their journey to the United States through Central American territory. But not all those who left for that country headed for the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

In general, the travel restrictions imposed by the <\/span>COVID-19<\/span><\/a> pandemic in Cuba and the world limited the possibilities of going abroad for nearly two years. The reopening of Cuban borders in November 2021 re-invigorated departures abroad for various reasons. Meanwhile, the visa-free exemption between the island and Nicaragua catapulted illegal migration.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Cubans wishing to emigrate by land, Panama can be both the territory of origin of the route and the country where it is necessary to make a stopover to continue by plane to Nicaragua, a territory a little further north, and from which fewer countries have to be crossed on the way to the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

New migratory wave of Cubans to United States<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n