This Thursday, the South Florida Coast Guard deported 177 rafters, a figure that adds to the almost 300 returned to Cuba in the last week.
This group includes rafters intercepted between January 4 and last Saturday along the Florida Keys.
In a statement detailing the deportation, Lt. Col. Mark Cobb, head of the Coast Guard’s Seventh District, explained why deportations have increased.
“The United States embassy in Cuba has already resumed processing all immigration visas in Havana, and with the new legal pathways to enter the United States announced by the White House and the Department of Homeland Security last week, we urge everyone to use the safe and legal means available to travel to the United States,” Cobb said, referring to the new temporary sponsorship program. established by the White House.
The United States returns 273 rafters to Cuba and captures 50 in the Florida Keys
The statement released by email does not specify which Cuban port the rafters were sent to.
The previous group, of 273 rafters, was disembarked in Matanzas.
