BOGOTÁ, Colombia — Colombia’s government ombudsman’s office says that nearly 1,300 Cubans who hope to make their way to the United States are stranded in miserable conditions on the Panamanian border.
William González is ombudsman for the Urabia region. He told a news agency that the 1,297 Cubans who arrived in the town of Turbo three months ago include about 300 children aged one to 14 and 11 pregnant women.
They’ve run afoul of a broader crackdown on migration by several Central and South American nations that has led several to close borders to Cubans passing through to the U.S.
González says officials plan to deport the Cubans, but don’t know how or in what manner.
He says they live among insects and rodents in a makeshift shelter with poor sanitation.
