About 10 Cuban rafters They arrived at dawn on Sunday in the Florida Keys, the United States Coast Guard reported Monday.
As reported, the undocumented migrants were detained and are in Border Patrol custody. They will presumably be deported to Cuba.
“At 2:30 a.m. Border Patrol agents responded to a maritime smuggling case that made landfall in the Florida Keys. At least 10 migrants from Cuba were detained. The investigation is still ongoing,” Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar said on Twitter, without offering further details.
At 2:30 a.m., #BorderPatrol agents & @mcsonews responded to a maritime smuggling event that made landfall in the Florida Keys. 10 migrants from #Cuba were taken into custody. Investigation is still ongoing. #sundaymorning #Florida pic.twitter.com/7nFszSvpIt
— Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar (@USBPChiefMIP) May 22, 2022
The authorities emphasized that this is clearly “a maritime smuggling event.”
This week, after the repatriation of another 48 raftersthe United States naval authorities issued an alert on the vigilance that is maintained over the northern Caribbean to avoid these events and redoubled their calls to possible migrants to refrain from carrying out these dangerous crossings.
Robert Copeland, security officer for Coast Guard District Seven, warned that the Coast Guard has increased air and surface patrols in the Florida Straits, Windward and Mona Passages.
“These waterways are dangerous, unpredictable and the risk of loss of life is great,” Copeland added.
According to recent figures of the border authorities, since November the numbers of arrivals of Cuban migrants have increased gradually.
The current exodus is only compared to that of the Maritime Bridge Mariel-Key West, in the summer of the 1980s, when some 125,000 Cubans arrived in the United States.
The US authorities, who recently resumed talks on the migration issue with their counterparts on the island, speculate that by the end of October 2022 some 155,000 Cubans could have arrived in US territory.
