The Cuban government ban exiled journalist Karla Perez from returning to Havana
Karla Perez is from Cienfuegos, a Cuban citizen. She found herself unable to continue on to Havana, nor stay in Panama, and without permission to reenter Costa Rica.
She studied for four years in Costa Rica after being expelled from University in Santa Clara, Cuba, for posting on the blog of an opposition organization. After graduating, she was returning home on March 18th.
Now 22-years-old, Perez was left in the midst of total uncertainty for hours, stranded, unable to legally enter any country, technically stateless.
"I ask the Costa Rican Foreign Ministry to offer her political protection and grant her asylum until the communist government dismisses the abuse of her,” she said.
"Returning to your country is a human right,” Human Rights Watch Director, José Miguel Vivanco, wrote on Twitter, who “condemned” this “very serious abuse.”
The flight, which departed from San José, made a layover at the Tocumen airport in Panama. Pérez said that at that moment, the airline contacted her through the loudspeakers of the terminal.
After several hours in migratory limbo, Cuban journalist Karla María Perez was welcomed as a refugee by Costa Rica. The Government of the Central American country granted her the right to apply for this status after she was forced on the night of March 18 to make an unexpected return trip to San Jose from Panama.
"An official from Copa [the airline she was traveling with] tells me that, not because of an airline issue or legal requirements, Cuban Migration orders that I am prohibited from entering my country,” Pérez said. Therefore, she had to return to San José.
People close to her petitioned the Costa Rican Foreign Ministry to allow her to enter, despite the fact that her student visa had already expired.
Earlier, the Costa Rican Deputy of the National Integration Party (PIN), Patricia Villegas, showed her support for the journalist.
“I ask the Costa Rican Foreign Ministry to offer her political protection and grant her asylum until the communist government dismisses the abuse of her,” she said.
Of course, I want to go back to Cuba, but, being realistic, I don’t think there is such an opportunity,” said Pérez. “My primary dream is to reunite with my family; I don’t care where,” she added. Her parents and her sister live on the island.
Cuba is targeting independent local journalism initiatives or outside state regulation, alleging that many of them — financed by foreign entities critical of the government — seek to destabilize the country.
Yaira Jiménez, communications director for the Cuban Foreign Ministry, argued that ADN Cuba — the news organization for which Pérez collaborates — is supported by the National Foundation for Democracy (NED), “an agency financed by the United States.”
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