Carnival cruise ship rescues 27 Cuban rafters

Around 2:30 p.m. This Sunday, the crew of the Carnival Paradise, which had left Tampa bound for Roatán, Honduras, sighted the Cuban migrants' boat and turned the ship around to rescue them.

22/04/2024 - 3:04pm (GMT-5) |

A Carnival cruise ship, which departed from Tampa, Florida, heading to Roatán, Honduras, rescued this Sunday27 Cuban rafters who were adrift on the high seas and they made signs asking for help.

Around 2:30 p.m. On Sunday, bridge personnel aboard the Carnival Paradise spotted the boat in which the Cuban migrants were traveling and turned the ship around to rescue them, reportedABC Action News.

The Cubans were taken aboard, received food and medical attention.

A video shared on social networks shows the moment when the cruise crew helps the Cubans get off the boat and get on board the ship.

The rescue was notified to the Key West Sector of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the Roatán authorities, the note stated.

At the beginning of March,the largest cruise ship in the world, theIcon of the Seas, rescued 14 Cuban rafters in the sea andtook them to Honduras. The group of 14 men traveled in a boat with a sail.

In February,another Carnival cruise ship rescued around twenty Cubans in a homemade boat, near the coast of Miami.

In one of the videos spread on social networks, the cruise ship was seen approaching the boat, while at least two of theoccupants took water from inside with buckets.

After receiving first aid, the rafters were transferred to a Coast Guard ship andThey remained in their custody until their repatriation to Cuba..

A total of 374 Cuban migrants have been returned to Cuba so far this year, according to statistics from the Ministry of the Interior (MININT).

Just three days ago,The US Coast Guard repatriated 19 Cuban rafters, 17 men and two women, in Puerto de Orozco, in the Bahía Honda municipality, province of Artemisa.

The number of Cuban migrants who have entered the United States through its borders during the first quarter of the current year is higher than that registered during the months of January, February and March 2023.

According todata of the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in the first three months of 2024,The arrival of Cubans at US border points has increased by 60% compared to the same period of the previous year.

In March, 19,571 Cubans arrived in the United States through irregular routes, 6% less than the previous month.