Yeudi Cisneros, a 23-year-old from Pérez Zeledón, claims to have lived a nightmare at the Mexico airport, where he was detained for 16 hours before being sent back to Costa Rica.
In an interview with crhoy.com, he said he was heading to Cancún to enjoy with six other friends; however, he stated that only two of them were allowed to enter the country, meaning five Ticos lost their investment in accommodation and airfare.
According to the information provided by the young man, they arrived at the Mexico airport at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, September 16.
They were interviewed by Immigration for an hour and a half, and at 5:00 p.m., they were locked in a room. They were kept there until 9:00 a.m. yesterday, Tuesday (the flight to Costa Rica departed at 10:00 a.m.).
Yeudi expressed his frustration through his social media.
“Mexico, a disappointing country. An adventure turned into a real nightmare. Mexican immigration detained us because we supposedly didn’t have all the hotels paid for where we were going to stay. They took our cell phones and all our belongings and locked us in a room without any rights, and finally, they told us it was because we were supposedly going to the United States, which was not true.
My passport shows that I have had more than five exits from Costa Rica. We provided all the information they asked for, and they still said: you cannot enter. The worst part is the condition where they keep you until a flight back to Costa Rica is available, and there are people who had been there for eight days, sometimes they brought food, and sometimes they didn’t. We were kept for 16 hours in inhumane conditions, and they take away the cell phones because they know you can record or take photos as evidence,” said Yeudi Jose Cisneros Cisneros through his social media.
The man described the place where he was kept.
“It was like a type of room. It was in the same airport. It was a trip with friends. Two were able to pass, and four more were detained with me. When I arrived in Mexico, I went through Immigration, and they started asking me several questions. I even showed them the hotel reservations. Then they sent me to a room for a second interview and took our phones. We were out of communication. In the end, they told us we couldn’t pass because we supposedly wanted to go to the United States, which was not true.
We were going on a vacation plan to Cancún. My two friends who were allowed to pass are currently vacationing in Cancún. I wasn’t even allowed to call my family to tell them what had happened.
When they took us to the other room where we were detained, we saw a lot of people locked up. Everyone was asking for coats because they were very cold. When we entered, they locked the door with a padlock and didn’t tell us anything. We had to wait for a flight with the airline we were traveling with to return us, but some people told us they had been there for up to seven days because there were hardly any flights from their airline. We were all without phones and even had to leave our bags outside where people could steal them,” said Yeudi.
He wanted to emphasize the “terrible conditions” in which they were kept.
“They kept us in a super dirty room full of trash. The mattress was about 5 centimeters thick, and what they gave us to cover ourselves were thermal blankets. They treated us as if we had committed the worst crime in the world. There weren’t even showers. There were only toilets, and they were disgusting. People who had been there for 7 days couldn’t shower. There was a guy from Afghanistan whose flights left every 15 days,” added the resident of Pérez Zeledón.
He also mentioned that the next day “they took us out” and told them that the flight to Costa Rica was about to leave. They were escorted and accompanied by a security officer. Their phones were returned to them only when they reached the airplane door.
He concluded by saying that they arrived in Costa Rica “very indignant with Mexico.” What initially was happiness at the thought of visiting new tourist sites turned into a nightmare.
He said he wanted to share his story so that “Ticos would be aware of what can happen in that country.”
This is not the first time a similar situation has occurred with Costa Ricans in Mexico. On several occasions, Ticos have reported the problems they have had entering the country and the humiliating deportations they have suffered.
Source: CR Hoy
