American Expatriate Costa Rica

Costa Rica rises emergency level due to African immigrants

On Friday, the Emergencies National Commission (CNE) declared  yellow emergency in three regions of the country for providing assistance to hundreds of African migrants.

Authorities are already assisting 800 African migrants. However, there are many more surviving with their own means.

Poor sanitary conditions have already caused a migrant’s death for a breathing illness, and one of the travelers was hospitalized for tuberculosis.

The towns on yellow alert are located in the Pacific, western central valley, and in the north.

So far, the government operates two shelters in the north, at La Cruz and Los Chiles. In the south, it manages a detention center at Río Claro de Golfito, a support center in Buenos Aires, and a humanitarian center at Paso Canoas.

These immigrants have been stranded in Costa Rica for the last three months due to Nicaragua’s border closure.

Source: La Nación.