The United States Coast Guard (USCG) repatriated 31 rafters to Cuba this Wednesday, who were trying to reach the United States on different vessels that were intercepted in the Florida Strait.
A statement from the border control agency released this Wednesday noted that the first detention occurred on Friday morning, when agents from the Key West Sector received a report from the Coast Guard Walnut about an illegal immigrant trip 38 miles southwest of Marquesas, in southern Florida. The Walnut crew arrived at the scene and took the migrants on board.
On the same Friday afternoon, another rafters' boat was intercepted 23 miles north of Matanzas province, Cuba, after being spotted by an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircrew from the Miami Air Station. The cutter Walnut was dispatched to the location and safely took the individuals on board.
On Saturday morning, a "good Samaritan" alerted Key West Sector officials to the presence of a migrant boat 23 miles south of Plantation Key. Crews from the USCG station boats in Islamorada arrived at the scene and embarked the migrants.
Once aboard a coast guard vessel, all migrants are treated with dignity and respect, and receive food, water, accommodation, and basic medical care," reaffirmed the statement from the US Coast Guard.
Lieutenant Commander Juan Ramírez, Prosecutor of the Seventh Coast Guard District, stated that his "highest priority is to prevent the tragic loss of lives at sea," while also noting that "safe, orderly, and legal migration is the best for the United States and our partner countries in the Caribbean."
The Coast Guard, along with the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF), "will continue to be present in the air and in the waters to detect and deter migrants from attempting to enter the U.S. illegally by sea," the statement emphasized.
On May 17, the US Coast Guard returned 26 Cuban rafters who were captured at sea while trying to illegally enter the country near the Florida Keys.
The Cuban Ministry of the Interior (MININT) revealed that the 26 rafters had departed from Villa Clara and had been sailing for three days when they were intercepted by US authorities.
That same day, seven other Cuban rafters who managed to reach land in Cayo Largo were detected and detained by Border Patrol agents in the Miami area.
The U.S. government continues to insist that all individuals who attempt or arrive illegally by sea will not be allowed to remain in the country, will be processed in accordance with U.S. laws and policies, and returned to their home country or the country of departure.
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 (CBP).
That number completes a total of 144,378 arrivals during the current fiscal year 2024 - which started on October 1st - adding up to the exorbitant figures of the worst migration crisis in Cuba's history, which began at the end of 2021.
In recent weeks, news of Cuban rafters landing on U.S. shores and in other countries, shipwrecks, interceptions, and rescues by cruise ships at sea have continued to occur, with fatal incidents such as the death of four immigrants as their boat drifted while they were travelling.
During that journey, four other Cubans survived, who were rescued by Mexican fishermen off the coast of San Fernando, in Tamaulipas, Mexico.
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