# Visa-free Entry for Cubans Ends (2026)

URL: https://allhistories.com/nicaragua/timeline/2026-visa-free-entry-for-cubans-ends
Location: Managua, Nicaragua
Themes: main-event

In November 2021 Nicaragua abolished visa requirements for Cubans, and Managua quickly became the main gateway for Cuban migrants, who arrived on charter flights and then travelled overland through Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico to the US border. Similar flights brought migrants from Haiti and from Africa and Asia, and US officials accused the Ortega government of using migration as a political weapon and a source of revenue. On 8 February 2026 the Nicaraguan government suspended visa-free entry for Cuban citizens. The measure came as the United States, under the second Trump administration, was pressing governments in the region on migration and had imposed sanctions and visa restrictions on Nicaraguan officials, airlines and charter operators involved in the flights. The decision cut off the most important legal pathway that had allowed hundreds of thousands of Cubans to reach the US border since 2021. Observers linked the move to growing US economic pressure on Managua, though it did not ease the broader confrontation over human rights. Politically, Managua continued to describe Havana as a close ally, as it had been since the revolution of 1979. At this point in the timeline (8 February 2026), the Co-President of Nicaragua was Daniel Ortega (18 February 2025 – present); the Co-President of Nicaragua (Copresidenta) was Rosario Murillo (18 February 2025 – present).

## Why it matters
It ended the 'Nicaraguan route' that had fuelled one of the largest Cuban migrations in history.

Ruler at the Time: [Daniel Ortega (2025–)](https://allhistories.com/nicaragua/rulers/daniel-ortega-3)

Co-President of Nicaragua (Copresidenta): Rosario Murillo (Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN))

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Cuba–Nicaragua relations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba–Nicaragua_relations)
- [AP News — Nicaraguan government blocks key pathway used by Cuban migrants (2026)](https://apnews.com/article/cuba-nicaragua-migrants-trump-us-d9bd0c5a56ff4bbb1bf4ba40468992be)
- [Wikipedia — Nicaragua–United States relations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaragua–United_States_relations)
- [Wikipedia — Ortega And Murillo (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Ortega)