Regime Says It Is Negotiating to Repatriate Cuban Nationals Stranded in Russia

MIAMI, United States. – The government in Havana stated this Saturday that it is conducting negotiations to solve the situation of Cuban nationals who are stranded in Russia due to the war in Ukraine, although it made no mention of how many individuals were affected.

“Faced with the cancellation of all flights between Cuba and Russia, our consulate in Moscow has kept in touch with Russian authorities and airlines with the goal of supporting Cuban citizens who were in that country temporarily and have not been able to return home,” Ernesto Soberón Guzmán wrote on Twitter; he is the director general of the office of Consular and Cubans Residing Abroad Affairs (DACCRE, by its Spanish acronym) of the Ministry of Foreign Relations (MINREX, by its Spanish acronym).

In a Twitter thread, Soberón added that “as part of the consular assistance, we are negotiating with the pertinent authorities to find a solution to the migratory situation that Cubans will face when they reach the end of their authorized stay.”

To date, the number of Cuban nationals that remain stranded in Russia is unknown, following the closing of European airspace to Russian aircrafts, as a result of sanctions against that country for the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian state news agency Sputnik stated this morning that “Azurair met its repatriation program objectives by bringing home Russian passengers from Mexico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.”

“Between February 28^th and March 17^th, 12,638 travelers returned on its aircrafts from those countries to Russia,” Sputnik added.

The Russian Association of Tour Operators (ATOR, by its Spanish acronym) explained that some 18,000 Russian tourists were stranded in the Caribbean. Only 93 citizens from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Chile, Costa Rica and Argentina returned to the Caribbean.

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