69 Chinese Immigrants Arrested in Nicaragua Trying to Enter US Illegally

We have heard about Cuban or Haitian immigrants trying to enter the United States through the sea, traveling in dangerous conditions on dilapidated boats.

This news is also about immigrants trying to enter the US, this time they are Chinese and they were arrested far away from US coast, in Nicaragua.  

According to Reuters, the Nicaraguan authorities have arrested 69 Chinese immigrants, who were traveling in a boat, trying to enter the US illegally.15 of them were women. They also arrested 14 Ecuadorians in another boat.

When their boats were in Nicaraguan waters, they collided with another vessel. This incident resulted in death of three Chinese and one Ecuadorian and Nicaraguan. Three are reported to be missing.

Nicaragua is trying to send the Chinese back but the process is stalled because China and Nicaragua do not have formal diplomatic relations.

Wide Spread Human Smuggling

This incident has shown the human smugglers are increasingly trying out new routes to bring the people into the United States and European countries illegally.

In 2000, the world was shocked with 56 Chinese immigrants died of suffocation when trying to enter the UK illegally, stuffed inside a truck driven by a Dutch man. Their bodies were found when the truck was stopped in Dover, UK.

According to the People's Daily, the man suspected to be one behind the human trafficking operation was under surveillance by the Dutch police before the incident took place.

Other Face of China

UN China says that, “There are at least 80 - 100 million people on the move in China as a result of poverty in the rural areas�. Also recent data published at Earth Trends shows that 47% of China's population lives on less than 2 dollars a day and 17% lives on less than a dollar a day.

This shows a different picture of China, very different from the one portrayed in the world media as nation of booming middle class and huge economic growth.

Number of Chinese living abroad