Cuban Foreign Minister Visits Ecuador to Discuss Migrant Crisis

Several countries will meet Tuesday to discuss a solution for the thousands of Cubans who are stuck on the Costa Rica-Nicaragua border.

​Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez made official visits to Ecuador and Nicaragua to hold high-level discussions regarding the ongoing Cuban migrant crisis in Central America.    

In Ecuador, Rodriguez met Thursday with President Rafael Correa, who said on his weekly television program that the pair met to analyze “the problem of Cuban citizens who arrive to Ecuador and illegally want to reach to the United States.”    

Ecuador is the only Latin American country that does not require Cubans to obtain a visa and many subsequently travel there first before proceeding on their journey to the United States.

President Correa was careful not to demonize Cuban visitors to Ecuador, saying “the majority of Cuban arrive as tourists and to work and they are welcome.”    

Foreign Minister Rodriguez traveled to Nicaragua Friday where he met with President Daniel Ortega. Cuban newspaper Juventud Rebelde reported that the pair discussed bilateral and regional topics, including the migrant issue. More details on the meeting were not available.    

Thousands of Cuban are effectively trapped in a migratory limbo at the Costa Rican and Nicaraguan border.

RELATED: Cuba Blames US for Cuban Migrant Crisis    

Nicaraguan officials closed the border to further Cuban migration after a recent surge of arrivals prompted by fears of some Cubans who believe the U.S. may soon abandon its infamous “wet-foot, dry-foot” policy, which grants U.S. residency to most Cubans who reach the United States.

Under the U.S. 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, any Cuban who successfully reaches the U.S. is able to gain permanent residency after being present in the U.S. for one year. However, if they are intercepted before they are repatriated to Cuba. Typically Cubans attempt to arrive by sea, lending the moniker to the policy.    

Cuban officials blame the “wet-foot, dry-foot” for prompting migration from Cuba to the United States.    

"This policy encourages illegal emigration from Cuba to the United States and constitutes a violation of the letter and spirit of the migration accords," read a statement released last week by the Cuban foreign ministry.    

Nicaragua has accused Costa Rica of fomenting a “humanitarian crisis” in the region. Costa Rica has said it will continue to grant the Cuban migrants transit visas.

RELATED: Nicaragua Accuses Costa Rica of Spurring a ‘Humanitarian Crisis’    

The foreign ministers of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Belize, Panama and the Dominican Republic, which comprise the Central American Integration System, will meet Tuesday in El Salvador to discuss a solution to the present crisis.

The foreign ministers of Cuba, Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador have also been invited to participate.

According to AP, more than 45,000 Cubans arrived at U.S. checkpoints along the border between Texas and Mexico in the fiscal year that ended in September.    

The U.S. “wet-foot, dry-foot” policy is a holdover from the Cold War, enacted during the period before Cuba and the United States re-established diplomatic relations. Cuba says the policy was designed deliberately to promote irregular migration.    

Despite Cuban protest, U.S. officials have signaled that they do not intend to modify the policy.