The crowded terminal, a launch point for Cubans making their way by air to Nicaragua then overland to the United States, is one barometer of the frenzy to migrate from the communist-run island nation.
For many, like Echavarria and his wife, it has also become a last resort as Cuba's economic crisis deepens with no end in sight.
'I GOT LUCKY'Artist Ernesto Perez, 51, told Reuters he had waited since 2015 for his turn to enter the United states legally under a family reunification program.
Cuba blames the long-running U.S. trade embargo and Trump-era sanctions for fueling the economic crisis and the exodus of more than 400,000 Cubans leaving for the United States in the last two years.
For many Cubans, however, Nicaragua remains the only viable option for getting off the island, said Yoany Bilbao, a 28-year old auto mechanic.
Persons:
Alexandre Meneghini, Echavarria, Olga, Joe Biden, Alain Ferguson, Ferguson, Ernesto Perez, Perez, Brian Nichols, Yoany, Dave Sherwood, Ted Hesson, Ismael Lopez, Alien Fernandez, Mario Fuentes, Nelson Acosta, Mica Rosenberg, Rosalba O'Brien
Organizations:
REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, U.S, Central America, West, CBP, United, Trump, Senior U.S . Department of State, Thomson
Locations:
Panama, Havana, Cuba, Rights HAVANA, Havana's, Nicaragua, United States, Central, U.S, Florida, Mexico, Washington, San Jose