MIAMI, United States. — A boat with 15 men on board that was seeking to leave the country illegally capsized on the high seas on June 21, the Cuban Ministry of the Interior (MININT) announced on Monday.
The information released by that organization indicates that the boat, “not suitable for navigation”, had set sail a day earlier through the Jibacoa area, Mayabeque province.
However, the authorities had no evidence of the illegal exit until the early hours of June 22, when agents of the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) detected “a citizen on the coast, near the thermoelectric plant in Santa Cruz del Norte, Mayabeque. , with sunburn and symptoms of dehydration.”
The note The MININT indicates that the citizen confessed to being part of the group of 15 men “who had thrown themselves into the sea in a boat not suitable for navigation through the Jibacoa area on the night of the 20th of the same month with the aim of leaving the country.” .
The rafter himself informed the police that the boat had sunk on the morning of June 21 “a considerable distance from the coast.”
“Based on this information, a surface unit of the Border Guard Troops, an air vehicle of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and private boats were immediately sent to the area to carry out search and rescue actions. Likewise, the review of the coastline was carried out by the Fire Department, other MININT forces, collaborators and the civilian population”, details the part of the authorities.
The note adds that until today six of the 15 people involved in the illegal exit attempt had been assisted.
The MININT reports that “the search actions continue, as well as the investigations by the competent authorities for the total clarification of this painful fact.”
That organization also assured that the illegal departures from the country in inadequate means for navigation are caused by the sanctions imposed by the United States government against the Cuban regime.
“We reiterate once again our condemnation of the cruel economic, financial and commercial blockade of the United States government against Cuba and its irresponsible immigration policy, all of which generates enormous socioeconomic difficulties for the population, being a factor in stimulating departures. illegal immigrants from the country in inadequate means for navigation, at the same time they hinder safe, orderly and regular migration”.
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