The Government of Costa Rica expressed satisfaction with the decision taken by US President, Barack Obama, to repeal the “wet foot, dry foot” policy, which gave preferential treatment to Cuban immigration since 1996.
As reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this policy encouraged an irregular massive flow of Cuban migrants through Central America, which resulted in a migration crisis in Costa Rica in 2016.
This policy gave preferential treatment to Cuban immigration, and for the Costa Rican government this encouraged the activation of human trafficking networks in the region, jeopardizing the integrity of migrants.
On April 13th, 2016, in a letter sent to the Government of the United States, President Luis Guillermo Solís asked President Obama to intervene and try to repeal the law to solve the migration crisis.
The Government expressed its desire that such decisions continue encouraging the improvement of bilateral relations between the United States and Cuba and that this decision allows a new immigration agreement to ensure regular, safe and orderly migration.