MIAMI, United States. — Relatives of disappeared Cuban rafters asked the Bahamian authorities this Wednesday for information on the whereabouts of their loved ones.
the american agency Associated Press (AP) reported that half a dozen women approached the Embassy of the Bahamas in Havana with a list that included the names of their loved ones.
The women who arrived at the diplomatic headquarters indicated to PA that they would not offer statements and that they were “desperate” families with no other interest than knowing the fate of their loved ones.
The list, compiled by those who are now claiming the whereabouts of their family members and relatives, contains 135 names and was compiled from data —including ages and departure dates— delivered by families that make up at least two WhatsApp groups to which PA had access.
The count prepared by the families indicates that of the total number of disappeared persons, 70 are between 20 and 40 years old, while six are under 20. The youngest would be Kriss Ángel Expósito Landa, 3 years old and taken from the island on June 4 , and the oldest Jorge Luis Barrero (57) who left on February 6, according to his relatives.
The families’ decision to demand an answer from the Bahamas coincided with the official visit of the Premier of the Commonwealth, Philip Davis, to Havana, who was received by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel last night.
Cuba is going through the largest mass exodus recorded in its history. figures of the United States Customs and Border Protection They point out that between October 1, 2021 and October 31, 2022, 249,756 migrants have arrived at the southern border of the northern country.
The migration wave has also been unleashed in the Florida Straits, with more than 6,000 Cuban rafters intercepted by US authorities in fiscal year 2022, and another 3,000 so far in fiscal year 2023.
In the case of Cuban migrants who have disappeared at sea, AP points out that “there is no official figure for those who have disappeared at sea, although they would generally be humble people from fishing villages who set out on rustic boats.” .
“In these times, migration was also nourished by Cubans with more resources who paid traffickers in speedboats from the United States or began air travel through Nicaragua,” the US agency highlights.
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