Nicaragua has reinstated the visa requirement for Cuban citizens, one of its few allies in Latin America, the Nicaraguan government co-led by spouses Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo reported on Sunday.
The measure, which ends visa-free entry for Cubans that had been in place since 2021 to promote tourism and what the government called a humanitarian family relationship, comes as Washington is pressuring Ortega and Murillo to release political prisoners and amid recurring accusations that Managua has served as a conduit for undocumented migrants trying to reach the United States.
It also comes amid pressure on Cuba from U.S. President Donald Trump, who cut off the flow of Venezuelan oil, plunging the island into an energy crisis. In a statement released Sunday, Nicaragua’s Interior Ministry added citizens “of the Republic of Cuba, holders of ordinary passports” to the list of countries whose nationals require a visa to enter the country.
The ministry said new visa applications will be submitted by email “from anywhere in the world,” without explaining why it will now require travel permission for Cubans, and only noted that the process “will be free of charge” for them. Before the official announcement, Nicaraguan media outlets in exile had reported the government’s decision.
The migration change must be notified to Cuban authorities, airlines, and land and maritime transport companies “for immediate implementation,” according to the digital outlet Despacho 505, published in exile, which said it had access to a ministry document containing the new order.
In recent years, Washington has accused the leftist government of co-presidents Ortega and Murillo of turning the country into a shortcut for flights bringing thousands of migrants to continue their journey to the United States, including Africans and Asians. In November of last year, the United States sanctioned businesspeople and Nicaraguan government officials for “facilitating” illegal migration from that country to the north of the continent.
