The plane carrying 303 Indian passengers, which was bound for Nicaragua but was detained in France, highlighted the new route taken by African and Asian migrants through Central America en route to the United States, avoiding the dangerous Panamanian jungle of El Darién.
The Airbus A340 from the Romanian company Legend Airlines, flying from Dubai (United Arab Emirates), was immobilized on December 21 during a layover in Vatry, France, following an alleged human trafficking report.
Manuel Orozco, an analyst at the Inter-American Dialogue based in Washington, told AFP that the government of Daniel Ortega has facilitated «the business for a network of air services» so that migrants «can reach the border with Mexico and the United States faster,» using Nicaragua as a shortcut or «bridge.»
«The government contracted private companies in Dubai in April to train civil aviation officials in handling passenger migration procedures on charter flights,» he said, adding that between June and November there were «more than 500» of these trips from various countries.
Nicaragua «seized the opportunity to facilitate the passage of foreigners from India coming from Dubai on three occasions,» added Orozco, a Nicaraguan expert in migration.
After being detained for four days, the A340 was redirected to Bombay (India) with 276 passengers (25 requested asylum, and two remained for questioning). Indian police are investigating claims that they paid tens of thousands of dollars to smugglers to help them reach the United States.
Premeditated
Nicaragua, which considers Washington its «enemy,» has been a «springboard» for Cubans and Haitians, to whom it hasn’t required visas since 2021: an average of 50 charter flights per month traveled from Havana to Managua between January and October, and from Port-au-Prince, these trips increased from 30 in August to 130 in October, according to Orozco.
«For Nicaragua, the air route to Managua was deliberately conceived to capitalize on the opportunity to increase the weight of the migration crisis towards the United States and, incidentally, to capture revenue from the business through visa fees, tourism permits, and landing taxes,» he added.
Liliana Bakayoko, a lawyer from Legend Airlines, told AFP that Nicaragua approved the passenger list before the flight and that these passengers would receive their entry permits at the Managua airport.
«Every foreigner intending to travel to Nicaragua must previously request entry permission. ‘Without approval from Nicaraguan immigration authorities of the passenger list, the plane couldn’t land in Managua or depart from Dubai,’ she said.»
Avoiding «hell»
In recent years, Cubans, Haitians, Chinese, Vietnamese, Africans have joined the wave of Venezuelans crossing the Darién border with Colombia, where they face exposure to sexual abuse, kidnappings, and robberies by criminal gangs, and the harshness of a jungle considered the «hell» for migrants.
According to the Panamanian government, more than half a million migrants passed through the area this year—double the number from 2022. However, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) observes a «significant trend» among Cubans and Africans choosing air routes to reach Central America, avoiding the Darién.
Conversely, the flow of Asian and African migrants (from Guinea, China, Senegal, India, Afghanistan, Angola, and others) entering through Honduras, mainly through its border with Nicaragua, quintupled from 14,569 in 2022 to 76,178 in 2023 (a 522 percent increase), according to the Institute of Migration.
From the aerial gateway of Managua, migrants travel by land to Honduras and Guatemala, where they cross without an official fee, and then proceed to Mexico and the United States, paying thousands of dollars to human traffickers or «coyotes.»
Connection through El Salvador
On commercial flights, a common route involves layovers in El Salvador, a significant hub for Central American air connections, similar to Panama.
Similar to what Costa Rica and Panama did with Cubans in transit towards Managua, in October, El Salvador imposed an airport fee of $1,130 for citizens from Africa and India in transit.
The majority «have Nicaragua as their destination,» confirmed a spokesperson from the Salvadoran Migration Authority to AFP.
Colombian authorities recently noticed that a majority of passengers on flights from Turkey were Africans in transit towards San Salvador—with direct flights from Bogotá—to continue their journey to Managua.
It’s people (…) that intends to migrate,» explained Colombian deputy minister of Foreign Relations, Francisco Coy this week, addressing a congestion of Africans at Bogotá’s airport. Two unaccompanied children from Guinea were found there, further raising concerns.
Meanwhile, the Nicaraguan government remains silent on this entire issue.
