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Seven Cuban rafters are missing after continuing their journey in the Cayman Islands on May 8th.

Seven men left Cuba on May 3rd through Santa Cruz del Sur, Camagüey, heading to Cancun, Mexico.

Balseros cubanos © CBC / Facebook
Cuban raftersPhoto © CBC / Facebook

Seven Cuban rafters who arrived in the Cayman Islands on May 8th and decided to continue their journey are currently missing.

A family member of one of them wrote to this editorial office to spread the case in search of information.

According to what he said, the group is made up of seven men who come from Camagüey and were heading to Mexico.

These rafters departed from Cuba on May 3 through Santa Cruz del Sur, Camagüey, heading to Cancun, Mexico. On the 8th, it was reported by CiberCuba that they had arrived in the Cayman Islands but had requested to continue their journey. Since then, we haven't heard anything else from them," the author of the message recounted.

"There are seven men. Among them is my uncle José Luis Vázquez López, 48 years old, originally from the province of Camagüey," he added.

"Please, any information or disclosure regarding these seven missing rafters would be very helpful," concludes the message.

Around two weeks ago, the Cayman Islands Customs and Border Control (CBC) reported that on May 8, seven migrants arrived in the Cayman Islands aboard a homemade vessel.

The small boat was spotted in front of Queens Highway, at around 5:30 am.

CBC and its associated organizations responded to the scene, but the rafters said they preferred to continue their journey, so the authorities monitored them until they went out of their radars.

At around 9:30 am, the ship was heading WNW off the coast of Cobalt, West Bay, approximately 2 miles off the coast, heading west at around 2-3 knots. The vessel was monitored by CBC from shore until it was out of sight, the entity underscored on Facebook.

In the Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory located south of Cuba, there are dozens of Cuban migrants who spend years waiting for the results of their asylum applications, in prisons and performing poorly paid forced labor.

In January 2023, the authorities of that country and the Cuban authorities agreed to resume deportation flights.

Cuban rafters continue to arrive on its shores, and faced with reports of mistreatment in detention centers and deportations, many decide to continue their journey.

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