MIAMI, United States.- With the highest figures in the last seven years, the exodus of Cuban migrants seems to continue to increase day after day. According to Border Patrol agents assigned to the Florida Keys, 150 people from the island have been detained since last Wednesday alone.
In a statement issued Tuesday by Walter Slosar, chief Border Patrol agent for South Florida, since October 1, 2021, the date the current fiscal year begins, the Border Patrol has responded to more than 216 landings. in the Keys and has encountered more than 3,000 migrants from both Cuba and Haiti.
This Monday, shortly after the Coast Guard announced in a statement that it had returned 30 Cubans to the island, the same federal agency reported that, also since October 1, 4,822 Cubans trying to reach the United States had been detained at along the Straits of Florida.
The 30 Cubans detained and returned to Havana were intercepted in various interdictions on Friday and over the weekend.
According to the US Coast Guard, the 4,822 Cubans detained since October 1 constitute the largest number of people trapped from Cuba, since 2017, trying to reach South Florida by boat.
During fiscal year 2017, 5,396 Cuban immigrants were caught trying to reach US shores. The figure dropped considerably for 2020, with only 50 people intercepted.
The situation, however, has only gotten worse, mainly since the anti-government protests on July 11, 2021. The economic, political and social crisis on the island has its citizens fleeing by land, sea and air.
According to the Border Patrol, 24 Cuban immigrants arrived in Key West on Tuesday. The day before, 33 migrants, divided into two groups, arrived in different areas of the Keys. Among Saturday and Sunday, 27 Cubans also made landfall in the Keys. On Friday, August 26, 42 Cubans were detained after making landfall on a group of islands west of Key West, in a wooden fishing boat.
Receive information from CubaNet on your cell phone through WhatsApp. Send us a message with the word “CUBA” on the phone +1 (786) 316-2072, You can also subscribe to our electronic newsletter by giving click here.
