Havana.- The Ministry of the Interior of Cuba (Minint) accused the United States this Saturday of “stimulating” illegal departures from the country and pointed to the economic embargo as “one of the main incentives” for them.
“The US government does not contribute to guaranteeing safe, orderly and regular emigration, while trying to create situations of social destabilization,” said the Minint in a note released on the television news.
The note details the attempted illegal departure of a boat that veered when it collided with another of the Border Guard Troops of Cuba and, as a consequence, left 5 deceased: a man, 3 women and a minor.
According to the Minint, 23 people were rescued by other Cuban units that joined the search and rescue.
The Cuban authorities are investigating “this painful fact” that “occurs as a consequence of the hostile and cruel policy of the US government against Cuba.”
The same, the note added, “that tolerates and encourages illegal departures from Cuba by allowing irregular migrants to remain in its territory.”
The Minint referred that “by keeping the Cuban Adjustment Law in force, illegal departures are encouraged; which in turn is taken advantage of by unscrupulous elements based in that country who profit without noticing the risk that these activities represent.
He also pointed out that “the economic, commercial and financial blockade (embargo) causes enormous difficulties for the population and becomes one of the main incentives generated by this type of action.”
The aforementioned Cuban Adjustment Act (1966) allows Cubans to apply for permanent residence in the US after one year and one day of staying in that country.
The US Coast Guard has intercepted 5,392 Cubans at sea since October 1, 2021, when the current fiscal year began.
The figure exceeds the largest flow of Cubans in 1980, when 125,000 people left through the port of Mariel in just seven months.
Meanwhile, the US Department of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has registered the arrival of 224,607 Cubans between October 2021 and September 2022.
The massive exodus of Cubans – both those who bet on the Central American route, and those who jump into the sea in precarious boats – marked the bilateral dialogue on migration held in April in Washington.
Cuba and the US resumed this year the meeting on migration issues, the first high-level meeting since 2018 when they were suspended by former President Donald Trump (2017-2021).
Washington reestablished several measures, including the gradual increase in the consular services of its embassy on the island and the reestablishment of a family reunification program that had been suspended since 2017.
In September of this year, representatives of the Cuban Border Guard Troops and the US Coast Guard Service spoke in Havana about how to increase cooperation to confront the smuggling of migrants, according to the Minint.
They also addressed illegal departures, illicit drug trafficking and maritime search and rescue operations.
