(EFE).- A group of 292 Haitians, including 56 minors, who were sailing on a “precarious boat” to the United States, landed on the Cuban island of Cayo Paredón, according to the official press on Thursday.
According to the first local reports, the Haitian migrants were sighted a few miles from Cayo Paredón, north of Ciego de Ávila, after being diverted from their route and pushed west by the wind.
the official medium Cubadebate reported that the boat was in the water for five days and that “they must have sailed some 400 miles, until they ended up landing on the Avilanian coast.”
The closest point of the US is about 950 kilometers from Haiti, but the Haitians managed to cover only half of that distance.
The migrants, whose health status has not been detailed, arrived in Cuban territory at dawn on February 9
The migrants, whose health status has not been detailed, arrived in Cuban territory at dawn on February 9, but it was not until this Thursday that the events were reported in the official press.
In statements collected by the provincial newspaper InvasiveAnia Rosa Francisco Malde, deputy governor of the Ciego de Ávila province, assured that a center – used during the worst part of the pandemic – is being set up to serve migrants.
“There they are offered breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. They have toilets, sheets, towels, water, medical services and other actions are coordinated to guarantee well-being,” he said.
In October, the shipwreck of a boat with Haitian migrants was recorded in the same area, although on that occasion 50 people were counted.
According to official data, from 2001 to 2021, only in the Cuban province of Guantánamo (east) a total of 76 boats arrived with a total of more than 4,000 immigrants.
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