Summary: African migrants flying into El Salvador to pay $1,000 fee

What we know

• Passengers from African countries that fly into El Salvador will from October 2023, pay a new fee of $1,000
• Over 50 countries including Seychelles, Sao Tome and Principe as well as other countries in Africa and offshore island nations will be affected by this new directive
• Countries on the list will need to get visas and buy expensive tickets to gain access to El Salvador and airlines will have to send the government a daily list of passengers from their countries
• The directive was announced days before a meeting between Salvadorean President, Nayib Bukele and U.S State Department Assistant Secretary for Western Affairs, Brian Nichols

What they said

Salvadorean airport authorities in a statement said, “The Government of President Nayib Bukele is working hard on modernization and expansion projects at the El Salvador International Airport, in order to provide a first-class service to all users and passengers who circulate through the air terminal”. However, a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, Ariel Ruiz Soto says, “This could be an attempt to reduce secondary travel of travelers coming to El Salvador who then could potentially try to make it to the United States.”