113 Haitians (men, women and minors) who entered Bolivia illegally last week in two separate groups, were intercepted by the police and handed over to the migration service.

The previous week 200 other Haitians had been abandoned by "coyotes" (smugglers) after having been abused and stripped for some of their meager possessions. The local population showed solidarity and accommodated the Haitians on a sports field. About fifty migrants were able to regularize their transit through Bolivia the others fled for fear of being repatriated to Haiti...

"Our country is a transit route to other countries," lamented Marco Puente the Head of the Division against Human Trafficking, stressing that Haitian migrants arrive in Brazil and from there they enter Bolivia illegally and continue their route to Chile or Peru.

María Inés Galvis, the Departmental President of the Human Rights Assembly in Santa Cruz, expressed her deep concern, stressing that in many cases Haitians do not speak Spanish and do not have sufficient resources for such a long and dangerous journey.

In recent years in Bolivia there have been several isolated interceptions of Haitians in an irregular migratory situation, however, the significant arrival of Haitians, which coincides with the crisis that Haiti is going through after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse lets the authorities fear an upsurge in Haitian migrants in the coming weeks and months...

TB/ HaitiLibre