MIAMI, United States.- A group of four Cuban rafters arrived in Islamorada, in the Florida Keys, shortly before 2 am this Monday, according to Adam Hoffner, head of the Miami Division of the Department of Customs and Protection. of borders
According to a note from The New Heraldthe group made landfall five days after Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) agents arrested two men in the Keys with a boat overloaded with gasoline, GPS consoles on board, a handheld GPS , a satellite phone, a pump to pump gasoline, and a large supply of water and electrolyte drinks.
This fact, says the text, which quotes a spokesman for the agency, “could be linked to the smuggling of illegal immigrants.”
The arrests of this Monday and last week “take place in the midst of an increase in maritime migration from Cuba to South Florida, which has not been seen since the times of the so-called “wet foot, dry foot” policy, that allowed Cubans who make landfall, stay in the United States, and then apply for permanent residency after a year.”
The current migration crisis has set off alarms due to the alarming numbers of Cubans who try to reach the United States every day.
In 2020, the US Coast Guard detained only about 50 migrants in the Straits of Florida. However, these figures have multiplied over the last year.
The political and economic situation in Cuba has caused thousands of Cubans to leave the country in what some specialists are calling a new exodus.
From the 1st. As of October 2021, 1,257 people have been intercepted, by sea alone, trying to reach the United States. In the last two weeks, the Coast Guard has returned more than 120 people to Havana.
Receive information from CubaNet on your cell phone through WhatsApp. Send us a message with the word “CUBA” on the phone +1 (786) 316-2072, You can also subscribe to our electronic newsletter by giving click here.
