First flight of Cuban migrants arrives at Mexico border town

A group of Cuban migrants arrived to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, on the U.S. border, on Tuesday as part of a January agreement struck between Costa Rica and Mexico.

Mexico's National Migration Institute (INM) said in a statement that 113 Cubans arrived on a flight from Costa Rica.

In January, Mexico and Central American countries approved a plan for flights to allow the more than 7,000 Cubans trapped in Costa Rica since mid-November when Nicaragua closed its borders to continue on to the United States.

Thousands of Cubans have turned to the Central American route to try to reach the United States, spurred by fears that a recent detente between Havana and Washington will end preferential U.S. asylum rights for Cubans that allow them to enter the United States by land without a visa. Those found at sea are deported.