MIAMI, United States. — The United States Coast Guard (USCG) repatriated 28 Cuban rafters this Thursday, as announced by the entity in a community.
The migrants were located last Saturday afternoon some 38 miles north of the province of Villa Clara by the crew of the USCGC Stone cutter, who notified the vigilantes of the Seventh District of the Coast Guard about the presence of a vessel in the zone.
After being rescued at sea, the migrants received food, water, shelter and basic medical care.
“The Coast Guard maintains a strong maritime presence to detect and intercept anyone attempting to illegally emigrate by sea in the Florida Straits and the Caribbean region,” Lt. Peter Hutchison stated.
The officer stressed that “these trips are not only illegal, but also incredibly dangerous.”
“No one should risk their life in unsafe rustic boats in unpredictable seas,” Hutchison said.
Last Sunday the Coast Guard had repatriated 38 Cuban rafters who tried to cross the Straits of Florida in three rustic boats.
The Cuban Ministry of the Interior (MININT) indicated that with this deportation operation there were 3,131 irregular migrants returned to the island from different countries in the region in 2023.
According to the MININT, among the migrants returned to the island on Sunday were two minors and five women, one of them pregnant.
From October 1, 2022 to date, Coast Guard crews have intercepted 6,317 Cuban rafters, 135 more than all those detained in the previous fiscal year.
The US authorities have insisted that all citizens of the island who try to reach US territory illegally will not be eligible for the humanitarian parole program launched by the Biden administration in January of this year.
