The pain generated by the death of eight people after their boat was rammed by the Border Guard Troops in Bahía Honda, is leading the Cuban authorities to spread the message that the body acts irreproachably and saves lives on a daily basis. This Wednesday, official Humberto López broadcast on his Cuban Television space the identity of a human trafficker arrested on October 30 when he was transferring 26 people to the United States, whom he held ultimately responsible for any incident that occurred on these dangerous trips.
The report, entitled with a spectacular The sea does not forgive explains that the detainee, Rafael López Morales fifo, now faces a conviction for human trafficking in Cuba. Humberto López details his biography: originally from Encrucijada, in Villa Clara, he was convicted of theft on the Island in 1991 and 1997. In 2001 he left illegally for the United States, where he began his activity.
Since then, and according to the detainee’s account, he has made “four or five” –he says, with an inexplicable inaccuracy for so few crossings– entries to Cuba to get all kinds of people out: women, children and the elderly included. “Two took me in the US and they gave me four and five years. I lost my papers in that – I had obtained residency in 2003 – that’s why I could never come to see my family,” he says.
The criticism of the defendant is unimportant in the story, since the national network insists that the driver of the boat is a mere pawn of a larger business originating in the United States.
Humberto López, who comments on the statements later, draws attention to the fact that a person convicted of human trafficking had barely served a few years in prison and was back on the streets doing the same thing. However, the criticism of the accused is unimportant in the story, since the national network insists that the driver of the boat is a mere pawn of a larger business originating in the United States.
“It is the owners of the boat who contact and tell you how many people you have to look for, and they fit in with whatever it is,” explains the detainee, who affirms that the rafters pay around 14,000 or 15,000 dollars through their relatives and that on his first trip they told him that he was going to charge 100,000, taking more than twenty people. “The boat has capacity for 14 or 15, that’s what the papers say,” he says.
The official reporter also expresses his astonishment that the boat usually exceeds the capacity provided by security, a common feature on illegal migration routes, and points out the “disregard for life” of the traffickers by putting people’s lives at risk.
Although the detainee does not offer this information, Humberto López assures that on one of the trips he made, the boatman took a “fugitive from justice” out of Cuba of whom he does not give details, not even the reason why he was wanted, and alludes to the risk to national security posed by these journeys.
It does not clarify that this year Washington did grant more than the 20,000 agreed visas, but the number of Cubans who left for that country is ten times greater
López, after viewing the “interview”, questions the public: “Who organizes all this?”, he asks. He goes on to point out that those responsible for “the fatal events that have occurred” – in veiled reference to Bahía Honda – are a direct consequence of the attitude of the traffickers and the encouragement that, he affirms, the United States offers. However, he does not offer any explanation. about the actions of the Border Guard patrol that sank the boat on February 28.
Thus, he affirms that “the action of the Border Guard Troops has been essential to preserve human lives”, while inviting reflection. “When we think about this issue, let’s think about the effects of the blockade for each one. Second, about a criminal law such as the Cuban Adjustment Law,” he insists.
“Once again, the impunity with which human trafficking operations are organized and coordinated in the United States destined for that country is revealed, which encourages criminal individuals to carry out these actions that endanger the lives of human beings” , underlines.
López adds that Cubans have the right to emigrate, but the US should give guarantees that it is exercised safely. However, he does not clarify that this year Washington did grant more than the agreed 20,000 visas, but the number of Cubans who left for that country is ten times higher.
Humberto López has a space in the Newscast from which he discredits activists, opponents, journalists or anyone who makes the regime uncomfortable. For this reason, the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba has in your database of “violent Cuban repressors”, considering that “it has become the spearhead of these discrediting campaigns against the opposition and the emerging civil society”.
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