U.S. accuses Nicaragua of ‘weaponizing’ migration, issuing warning to airlines
The Biden administration is accusing the Nicaraguan government of “cynically profiting” off illegal migration across the Americas, and warned the aviation and travel industries to “avoid complicity” in what it describes as a broad scheme by Managua to sell short-term visas to migrants through human smugglers.
The White House, Treasury Department and State Department took several actions to crack down on the practice on Wednesday, sanctioning several Nicaraguan-based entities and issuing a policy alert that “notifies airlines that they are being exploited,” one senior administration official said on a call with reporters.
The administration said Nicaragua is selling visas upon arrival at their airports to migrants that require them to leave the country within 96 hours, providing smugglers with an opportunity to transport migrants closer to the U.S.-Mexico border.
“They are profiting quite substantially off the facilitation of irregular migrants,” a second senior administration official said, “who ultimately, in many cases, make their way up toward our southwest border.”
The U.S. policy alert includes a number of suggestions to airlines, requesting they undertake document validation processes and take proactive measures to identify routes through Nicaragua that are known to be used by human smugglers.
The administration’s actions on Wednesday do not include any consequences or penalties for airlines found to be complicit in irregular migration. But U.S. officials on the call would not rule out future actions. “This is something the U.S. government is watching closely,” one official said.
Earlier this month, the International Air Transport Association, a trade group that represents the airline industry, issued a statement that its member airlines “recognize the challenges posed by irregular migration worldwide, including in the Americas, and the need for concerted action to address this complex issue.”
“We call upon states in the region to implement public policies and migratory requirements aimed at disincentivizing irregular migration to the targeted countries of destination,” the group’s statement read. “The industry will continue to strictly comply with all implemented regulations and requirements that contribute to mitigating and controlling irregular migration.”
The Treasury Department also issued sanctions on three Nicaragua-based industries over the practice, as well as against entities that have “enabled antidemocratic behavior and repression” by the regime of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, including the training center of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in Managua.
