Cubans protest Panama's new visa requirements

Hundreds of Cubans packed the Panamanian Embassy in Havana on Wednesday after the Central American country announced that it will require a transit visa from them.

Police cordoned off the perimeter of a park near the consular headquarters as Cubans with travel plans awaited answers.

The Panamanian measure also came into force a week after the United States embassy in the Cuban capital announced the restart of consular services on a limited basis for family reunification visas, suspended since 2017.

Until now, the migratory regulations of Panama allowed Cubans to transit for 12 hours and required a visa for tourists that planned to remain in the country.

An official read a statement in which the Panamanian consulate indicated that those who travel until midnight on Saturday will be able to transit without the visa requirement, but from then on, those who have tickets will have to reschedule their flights.

The measure generated reactions of disgust among the trvellers

Panama is the second country in Central America to impose this measure after Costa Rica, in February.

Other South American nations, such as Ecuador, began requiring entry visas for Cubans before the pandemic to regulate that migration. However, Panama's measure could be particularly harsh since it is the point they use as a transit to follow the United States.