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| Hundreds of African migrants sneak into the US in broad daylight after exploiting immigration loophole in Nicaragua that allows them in with no questions asked for just $160 |
| 2023-09-21 |
| [Daily Mail, where America gets its news] DailyMail.com traveled to Lukeville, Arizona, and saw at least 600 migrants, many of them African refugees, crossing the southern border on one day alone Baba, a mechanic from the West African nation of Mauritania threw himself to the ground and prayed seconds after squeezing through the steel fence at the Mexican border in Arizona. Skinny enough to squeeze between the bars. 'Joe Biden opened the door for us,' he gleefully yelled as dusk fell and the migrants waited to be picked up and processed by U.S. authorities. 'I wanted to come here to be free. You cannot put a price on freedom,' added Baba, one of an increasing number of migrants from several African countries who are now joining the influx along the southern border. But while Baba, 25, thanked Biden's border control policies for the chance of a new life in America, there is really one other person he should be showing his gratitude to. That man is Daniel Ortega, the 77-year-old long-time strongman in Nicaragua, a close ally of the late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and an implacable foe of the United States which has imposed sanctions on his country. For Nicaragua is now playing an increasingly important role in the migrant crisis, allowing in people from all over the world for a $160 fee and then turning a blind eye to where they go next, DailyMail.com has learned. In fact, a regular tourist visa costs just $10, according to the U.S. Embassy there, suggesting the smugglers are getting a hefty mark-up. Soft-touch entry requirements for nationals of a slew of African countries mean they can purchase a low-cost visa on arrival in its capital, Managua, without any proof of onward travel. Baba, like many of the young men that DailyMail.com spoke to, claimed that he had paid the $160 for paperwork allowing him to enter that country. Officials then appear to turn a blind eye to the lucrative people-smuggling business occurring right under their noses, effectively creating a back door into the U.S. Brazen smugglers even boast on TikTok of how potential asylum-seekers are 'guaranteed' to be let into America once they arrive at its border with Mexico. 'Come and live this experience with us,' says one French language post. 'Next departure is September 18, Ins'allah.' Another read: 'Must be financially prepared and ready for adventure. Once in Mexico you enter the USA without worries so relax.' The posts promise cheap deals on airfares from West Africa, although who exactly is raking in the proceeds of those sales remains unclear. It could give rise to the suspicion that Ortega, a long-time foe of the United States whose wife and children have been hit by sanctions, is weaponizing the flow of migrants barely a year before what will be a hotly contested presidential election. Baba, who was sporting a Liverpool F.C. jersey like his soccer idol Mohammed Salah, came through in Lukeville, Arizona, a tiny town of just 40 people across the border from Sonoyta in the Mexican state of Sonora. On Saturday, DailyMail.com witnessed at least 600 enter in Lukeville. Coyotes, who were paid to escort them through, cut holes in the fence that is supposed to keep them out. For the migrants it was the end of what was for some a month-long journey. Baba flew a total of more than 11,300 miles to get to the United States and then had a 3,000 mile trek on land. 'I flew from Mauritania to Istanbul,' Baba explained, barely able to contain his joy at reaching Arizona. 'From there, we took a flight to Bogota in Colombia. 'Once we landed in Colombia, we went to El Salvador and then to Nicaragua. 'It was only there that we left the airport.' Once he had landed, Baba still had a long and dangerous trek through Central America and Mexico ahead of him. But he had landed in the Americas and now the United States beckoned. Baba blamed 'repression' in his homeland as his reason for fleeing. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #5 Oh, I realize they flew. It had to be that, or a 'special' Princess cruise one way to Nicaragua. Evidently no one asks for a visa anymore, unless you're coming in legally. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2023-09-21 13:05 |
| #4 Ed - they flew. 'I flew from Mauritania to Istanbul,' Baba explained. 'From there, we took a flight to Bogota in Colombia. That's the easy, and expensive, part. Hiking through the Darien Gap is more difficult. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2023-09-21 11:42 |
| #3 ^Wakanda has very advanced technology. |
| Posted by: Grom the Reflective 2023-09-21 11:09 |
| #2 So. pray tell, how do hundreds of Africans just 'appear' in Nicaragua? |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2023-09-21 11:05 |
| #1 Ecuador Asks World for ‘Valuable Support’ to Afford Housing Venezuelan Migrants During U.N. Address |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2023-09-21 05:15 |