Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd yesterday convened a meeting with Cuban Ambassador to Guyana, Narciso Reinaldo Armador Socorro to discuss the pressing issue of a number of Cuban nationals currently camping at South Drain, Suriname who are desirous of travelling through Guyana to get to the United States to seek asylum there.
A release from the ministry said that Todd was accompanied by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, Attorney General Anil Nandlall and Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn.
Reuters on Friday reported that Suriname’s government will provide humanitarian assistance to the group of Cuban migrants.
The group, which Suriname media reported includes both recent arrivals seeking to reach the United States and longer-term residents of Suriname seeking to leave due to the country’s high inflation and economic downturn, is camped out in Nickerie, some 200 km (124 miles) west of capital Paramaribo.
They have been unable to cross the Corentyne River into Guyana because the ferry service has been shut down to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“We consider it a serious matter,” Albert Ramdin, Suriname’s minister of foreign affairs, said in a statement issued on Thursday, adding that the country was providing the migrants with shelter, food, and medical assistance.
Authorities have also suspended flights from Cuba and Haiti into Suriname.
The foreign ministry said it had requested technical assistance from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Red Cross, and the International Organization for Migration.
