Painter Delphine Raveau, like many others, fell in love with Costa Rica and couldn't go away. Now, she calls it her home and her source of inspiration as an artist.
The closure of the shelter that housed 85 and fed 150 people a day is likely to further concentrate immigrants in the area around Peñas Blancas, as more arrive every day with no way forward.
As news came over the weekend that Panama would carry out another airlift to Mexico for 3,800 unauthorized Cuban migrants there, hundreds of migrants from across Africa remain in Costa Rica with no way forward.
Immigration officials accepted refugee applications from 60 of the 116 migrants. The remaining 56 were returned to Panama, according to Immigration Administration spokeswoman Seidy Muñoz.
The bottleneck out of Costa Rica is stretching the patience of Cuban migrants and the Costa Rican government's pocketbook. But some still won't risk it.
Costa Rica has proposed a “humanitarian corridor” through the region that would allow the migrants to pass freely through with temporary transit visas.
Nicaragua temporarily closed its border with Costa Rica, and riot police fired tear gas after 700 Cubans reportedly tried to peacefully cross on Sunday.
