Nadia Breffe Leiva and Andrés Bolívar are the first Cubans to obtain a residence permit ( parole), of the six rafters who made landfall on April 29 on Miami beach, with which they can begin an asylum process. This Thursday they left the facilities of the Broward Transitional Center, where Deilanis, Yosvany, José Ángel and Erick still remain.
“They have given us all the papers. On the 12th of next month we have to appear before the Court”, Bolivar told to Telemundo 51. “Life in Cuba is difficult. I was one of those who went out and beautified,” says this resident of Nuevitas, in the province of Camagüey.
Breffe, originally from Granma, commented that she left her nine-month-old daughter with her mother on the island and that she was forced to flee due to the lack of freedom and opportunities. “In Cuba I don’t have the right to express myself,” she lamented, “because when you don’t agree with any law they simply overwhelm you, mess with your family and make your life miserable. The police punish you.”
This group of rafters from Nuevitas and Granma, according to Adam Hoffner, division chief of Miami Customs and Border Protection operations, was located 14 days ago on the shore of 53rd Street and Collins Avenue in a small wooden rowboat. ” to which they adapted an engine and named it Emanuel and the legend: “God with us”.
Breffe, originally from Granma, commented that she was forced to flee due to the lack of freedom and opportunities
They had been 12 days at sea. On April 28, before making landfall, they ran out of water and had gone several days without eating. His arrival was captured by some bathers. Arcef Felipe, a Cuban-American, supported them, bought pizzas and soft drinks in which his data was taken to remain in custody.
Bolívar has taken another step towards freedom but is still waiting for the Court’s decision, “let’s see what they tell us, this is the process we are in now and we have to continue fighting.”
The exodus of Cuban rafters does not stop. United States Border Patrol Agents they arrested 58 rafters last weekendOfficer Walter N. Slosar reported. The nationals were located as part of “six maritime smuggling events in the Florida Keys.”
Just as there is a massive arrival, there have also been returns. On May 9, the Coast Guard repatriated 61 rafters, the result of seven operations off the Florida Keys. These people were returned on the ship william flowers.
Since last October, the US Coast Guard has detained 1,689 Cubans at sea, compared to 838 between October 2020 and September 2021.
________________________
Collaborate with our work:
The team of 14ymedio is committed to doing serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for joining us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time becoming a member of our newspaper. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
