“The people that arrive are passing across Costa Rica trying to get to the United States, basically,” President Rodrigo Chaves told a press conference Tuesday.
According to Chavez, the people crossing through his country are from around the world, including Venezuela, Ecuador, China, Colombia, Haiti, Yemen, and Bangladesh.
According to the International Organization for Migration, over 84,490 people entered Costa Rica through its southern border in the month of August – an increase of 55% compared to the previous month.
Regionally, the number of migrants crossing the treacherous Darien Gap – which connects Panama and Colombia and has recently served as a barometer for movement – broke a new record this year.
According to authorities, 248,901 people have crossed the jungle so far in 2023, and of those, approximately 20% are children and adolescents.
In August, Chavez visited US President Joe Biden to discuss migration and other issues.
Costa Rica is among a host of countries set to open so-called safe mobility offices, a new initiative by the Biden administration to partner with international organizations to establish brick-and-mortar processing centers for migrants to apply to migrate legally to the US, among other countries, instead of continuing their journey to the border.
As of August 28, more than 38,000 individuals have registered in Colombia, Costa Rica and Guatemala for the Safe Mobility initiative, according to a White House official.
Reporting contributed by CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez and Caitlin Hu.
