The US Border Patrol took into custody 12 rafters who landed Thursday night in Miami Beach, Florida. According to the Cubans, the journey lasted “five days” and they left Camalote, a town located in the municipality of Nuevitas, Camagüey.
The migrants arrived in a raft to which they adapted, for its impulse, a Kubota brand welding machine motor, public America TeVe. They said that the journey was “quite difficult” because of the “big waves” that hit the boat and “the cold and hunger” that they experienced. They claimed they had family in Florida.
The chief officer of the Miami Sector Border Patrol, Walter Slosar, said they received an alert call about the landing at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and specified that the rafters were located at 67th Street in Miami Beach.
Slosar mentioned that the migrants were registered and taken in a van to a local facility for processing. “The investigation is ongoing,” the agent underlined in his social networks.
This same Thursday, another 22 Cubans who arrived in Marathon on a sailboat disembarked. The migrants were detained and taken into custody, with the exception of one who had to be taken to a hospital for treatment, Slosar explained.
#IslaEnFuga A group of 12 Cuban rafters from Camalote, Camagüey, arrived in Miami Beach on November 3 | Video: Social Networks pic.twitter.com/jLUha6BEZ6
— 14ymedio (@14ymedio) November 4, 2022
Among the list of detainees provided by the officer, two smugglers were also identified without specifying their nationality, who transferred four people from Cuba, two from China and one from Jamaica and the Bahamas, respectively, to Palm Beach. The case is being handled by the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Not all Cuban rafters have made it to land. This Friday they were repatriated to Island 68 aboard the ship william trump. The US Coast Guard again warned that all crew members of vessels intercepted on the high seas will be returned to their country of origin.
Captain Ben Golightly warned in a statement about the precariousness of the rafts. “Our partner agencies find and rescue people further from shore, because these vessels are not built to withstand the journey.” He exhorted Cubans not to put their lives at risk.
According to official data, since October 1, the Coast Guard has intercepted 1,374 Cuban rafters.
Those attempting to enter the US illegally are stopped at sea by @USCGSoutheast & @CBPAMORegDirSE.
Migrants who make it to shore are interdicted by @USBPChiefMIP & @DFOFlorida.
Those without a legal basis to remain in the ?? will be rescued & repatriated. #DontTakeToTheSea https://t.co/ilXA4Lv2at
— Homeland Security Task Force-Southeast (HSTF-SE) (@HSTF_Southeast) November 4, 2022
In these escape attempts, several migrants have ended up in the Cayman Islands. The Customs and Border Control Service indicated last Wednesday through a statement that a group of 269 will be repatriatedincluding several who were denied asylum.
Most rafters reach this point because on their journey they run out of “food or fuel” or the rafts do not support the journey. This Wednesday they were 14 Cubans rescued after seven days adrift after a failure of the engine of his boat. Three of them had to be admitted to a hospital.
Three other Cubans were assisted and transferred to a hospital on Thursday after they arrived in Cayman Brac. The migrants reported another boat that broke down and “became adrift with a large number of occupants” 55 nautical miles to the northeast.
According to official figures, with the arrival of these two groups the current count of migrants in the Cayman Islands rose to 286, with more than 100 of them still Cayman Brac.
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