Desperate Cuban migrants fleeing poverty and communism are walking to the United States instead of arriving in boats. This year, about 150,000 are expected to come, according to senior American officials, The New York Times reported.
Late last year Nicaragua dropped visa requirements for Cubans, enabling migrants to fly to Central America and journey to the United States via Mexico.
Would-be migrants have to pay for flights to Nicaragua, and traverse 1,800 miles of inhospitable Central American and Mexican territory through jungles, mountains, and rivers. En route they may have to endure threats and extortion by police and criminal gangs.