One person died this Tuesday in an operation by the Border Guard Troops, who were trying to intercept a boat with at least 22 migrants on the north coast of Cayo Coco, in Ciego de Ávila.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, which released the news in a statement on Wednesday, on Tuesday afternoon the border police noticed the presence of a speedboat fleeing in a northwesterly direction. The boat stopped, presumably due to technical problems, and was reached 11 miles from Cayo Coco, in Cuban waters.
The migrants jumped into the water and the agents began to carry out rescue tasks but, according to the Ministry’s version, the boat tried to continue the march and “during the subsequent maritime maneuvers” the two ships “collided”.
The note indicates that both boats were of similar size and that the three people who were still on the fleeing boat “suffered injuries, one of them seriously, who died on the evacuation route to land.”
The note indicates that both boats were of similar size and that the three people who were still on the fleeing boat “suffered injuries, one of them seriously, who died on the evacuation route to land.”
Four women and 17 men were rescued by Cuban Border Guard Troops in the operation, in which there was coordination with the US Coast Guard, the statement said.
Although according to the note, the authorities are investigating what happened, they also affirm that there has been “an increase in acts of violence used by international human traffickers, endangering the physical integrity of both irregular migrants and combatants of the Ministry of Interior”.
The statement does not specify whether the deceased was a migrant or an alleged trafficker, although it does insist that Cuba “is committed to regular, orderly and safe emigration” and, although on this occasion it does not mention the United States as responsible, it usually attributes the Washington’s policies bear the responsibility of encouraging the opposite.
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