A video recorded in 2022 and published last Sunday on TikTok shows a group of Cuban rafters adrift in the Florida Strait during their second day at sea, uncertain of their exact direction. The clip, shared by the user @guapoyfajao, has resurfaced four years after it was filmed and has generated a new wave of reactions within the Cuban exile community.
In the 46 seconds of the recording, one of the men speaks with a mix of anguish and determination. "Gentlemen, we are already here. This is the second day of being adrift, and we are heading God knows where," he says in front of the camera, with the open sea in the background and the faces of his companions visible behind him.
The most heartbreaking moment comes when the protagonist explains why he is recording: "This is in case something happens to us... Mom, I love you, take care of the child, and all the children we have out there. I tried for you."
Despite the evident fear, the man closes the video with a statement of determination: "Nothing is going to happen here. It's full steam ahead all the time. Let's see what happens."
According to information provided in the comments of the video, the journey began at Playa Rosario, in the province of Mayabeque, east of Havana. "Playa Rosario in Mayabeque 2022 and everyone is here now," wrote one of the participants, confirming that all members of the group managed to reach U.S. soil and currently reside in Estados Unidos.
The video was published in response to another TikTok user and garnered over 63,200 views in just a few days, along with thousands of reactions from Cubans who recognize in those images the risk that they themselves or their relatives faced while attempting to cross the Florida Strait.
The recording belongs to one of the most intense periods of the Cuban maritime exodus. In the fiscal year 2022, the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted 6,182 Cuban rafts at sea, marking a historic record, while in the first six months of fiscal year 2023, that number had already exceeded 6,200. In total, more than 224,000 Cubans attempted to enter the U.S. by land and sea during 2022, surpassing the combined numbers of the Mariel exodus and the Balsero Crisis of 1994.
The journey on a raft is extremely dangerous. The Coast Guard confirmed at least 39 immigrant deaths in the eight months leading up to June 2022. Cuban rafters have previously shared images of their journeys to the United States, documenting extreme conditions of heat, thirst, and disorientation at sea.
Cuban maritime migration has not stopped. In June of this year, ten Cuban rafters arrived in Isla Mujeres, Mexico, after several days at sea, demonstrating that the exodus remains active four years after this group recorded their own farewell message from the waters of the Caribbean.
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