The Mexican Navy rescued ten Cubans who were adrift on a small boat, about 22 kilometers south of Isla Mujeres, in the state of Quintana Roo.
One of the migrants was showing signs of dehydration and received medical attention.
According to information from the Fifth Naval Region, as reported by the Mexican press, the operation was activated after authorities received an alert about the sighting of the vessel in Mexican Caribbean waters.
Personnel from the Naval Search, Rescue, and Maritime Surveillance Station of Isla Mujeres set out in a Defender-type unit to locate the ten crew members and bring them to safety.
The men were transferred to the facilities of the Fifth Naval Region, where Naval Health personnel assessed their health condition.
Subsequently, they were taken to the Advanced Naval Station of Puerto Juárez and handed over to the National Migration Institute (INM), responsible for verifying their immigration status.
Four days adrift and a request for asylum
The rafters stated that they had spent four days adrift and that they managed to survive thanks to a cruise ship spotting their vessel and alerting authorities of their presence, as reported by the independent newspaper 14ymedio.
The same outlet specified that one of those rescued showed signs of severe dehydration, while the other nine received medical assistance.
During their transfer, one of the Cubans expressed the group's request: “We want asylum”, according to the report from the mentioned source.
A source consulted by the newspaper, who requested anonymity, indicated that among those rescued were individuals from Isla de la Juventud and Pinar del Río, two regions in western Cuba from which boats often set sail towards the Mexican coast.
The same source indicated that migrants would receive assistance with their procedures, and that any request for protection would depend on the internal procedures of the National Migration Institute.
Two more vessels with 11 Cubans arrived in Quintana Roo
The rescue is in addition to the recent arrival of two vessels with 11 Cuban migrants on the shores of Quintana Roo, as confirmed by the regional captain of Puerto Juárez, Pedro Murillo Garay.
According to their statements, reported by the Mexican press, one of the vessels was carrying a Cuban couple and the other was carrying nine individuals.
The occupants were placed at the disposal of the National Institute of Migration (INM) to determine their legal status.
Murillo Garay explained that maritime authorities also find abandoned vessels during their surveillance patrols along the coast of Quintana Roo.
In many cases, the rafts appear without crew members, making it difficult to establish how many people managed to reach land.
With these three episodes, at least 21 Cubans have been located or rescued in the waters and shores of Quintana Roo during October, not including possible undocumented arrivals by the authorities.
Abandoned vessels and clandestine arrivals
The fisherman Javier Robles, interviewed by 14ymedio, warned about the frequency of clandestine arrivals and mentioned information regarding 28 abandoned vessels in the area, some allegedly used by Cuban migrants in the Nichupté lagoon in Cancun.
The maritime route between the western part of Cuba and the Yucatán Peninsula has documented other recent episodes. In June, ten Cuban rafters arrived at Isla Mujeres after several days of sailing, while in August the Mexican Navy rescued 19 Cubans, including seven minors.
In August, two young Cubans, Leodannis Sánchez, 17, and Osmaikel, 19, drowned during an attempt to cross from Pinar del Río to Cancún after their boat's engine malfunctioned.
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