Cuban family reports theft of boat by recently arrived rafters in the U.S.

A Cuban family reported the theft of their fishing boat in Havana this Tuesday by a group of 11 rafters who had recently arrived on the shores of Miami, Florida. The rafters are currently detained in the United States.

According to Martí Noticias, the case came to light on social media when thousands of internet users wished luck to the migrants, while the owners of the boat revealed the drama they are experiencing now in the island's capital.

"That is my father's lifelong work. All his money. My dad has been a fisherman since he was a child. He always wanted to have a boat and he achieved it with all his sacrifice, and now it has been stolen," Claudia Rico Eleveñil, daughter of the boat owner, told journalist Mario Pentón from the aforementioned outlet.

In the exclusive interview, the young woman highlighted that her whole family makes a living from fishing and "right now we have been left with nothing," a thought that makes sense when considering that, in these cases, the US Coast Guard does not return the ships to the Caribbean nation.

The dialogue also included the presence of Ariel Rico Figueroa, 51 years old, who shared with Martí Noticias the ownership of the boat registered in his name.

"The boat took me. What I want is justice to be served in real life. To the person I fed, the one I helped find work, even to their child. They stole the dream of my life," Rico expressed in one of his responses to Pentón.

Many of them comment on social media: 'how good that they arrived', but they don’t know what they left behind. They stole and left a family without their livelihood, and that is not fair,” Claudia Rico added in the midst of the conversation.

Additionally, father and daughter commented that the boat costs around 17,000 dollars, an extremely high amount considering that the minimum wage in Cuba is 2,100 CUP, about six dollars in the informal foreign exchange market.

The rafters, on their part, arrived on US territory on the fishing boat, as can be seen in an image spread on the social network X (previously Twitter) by Samuel Briggs II, chief of the Miami Sector of the Border Patrol.

The publication indicates that they landed in Key West, and notes that they departed from Havana. "The investigation is ongoing," concludes the text, which does not provide details on the circumstances in which they were detained.

In statements also to Martí Noticias, immigration lawyer Rosaly Chaviano stated that migrants have the right to a defense and "to speak with a lawyer before undergoing the credible fear process so that they are prepared for their interview."

Meanwhile, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement takes into account several elements to decide whether to release a detainee, for example, if they have been deported before or have committed crimes in the country, the specialist commented.

However, the U.S. government continues to insist that all individuals who attempt to arrive illegally by sea will not be allowed to stay in the country, will be processed in accordance with U.S. laws and policies, and returned to their home country or the point of departure.

At the end of May, the United States Coast Guard reported that they repatriated 18 immigrants to Cuba who were detained at sea, while a week earlier they returned another 31 people.

The exodus of Cuban migrants, mainly heading to the United States, whether by sea or land, shows no signs of coming to an end.

In April, 17,870 Cubans arrived by sea and land in the northern country, according to statistics from the Department of Customs and Border Protection.