MIAMI, United States. – A group of Cuban rafters disembarked in the north of Key Largo this Tuesday, in the midst of an exponential increase in the arrival of migrants from Cuba and Haiti, according to reported on Twitter local reporter David Goodhue.
Every week, dozens of Cubans approach the coast of the United States, where they are generally intercepted by Coast Guard agents and then deported to the island. However, many of them perish at sea before reaching land.
This Monday, the crews of the Celebrity Beyond and Carnival Celebration cruise ships rescued 24 Cuban rafters off the coast of Florida, according to the US agency. Associated Press (AP).
The rescues occurred in the midst of the mass arrival of hundreds of migrants from the Island through the Straits of Florida, a fact that has forced US protection agencies to reinforce their presence in the area.
The AP report indicates that Celebrity Beyond crew members rescued 19 migrants from a crowded boat, while the Carnival Celebration crew assisted five people who were in distress aboard a small boat. about 29 miles northwest of Cuba.
Over the weekend, some 300 Cuban rafters arrived at Dry Tortugas National Park, about 70 miles west of Key West. The massive arrival of migrants from the Island forced the temporary closure of the park to favor attention from the police and rescue forces.
Another 160 migrants arrived by boat in other parts of the Florida Keys over the weekend. This Monday, around 30 people belonging to two new groups of migrants were found in the area.
“This shows the lack of a road map by the federal government to deal with a mass migration problem that was foreseeable,” Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay said in a news release Monday.
The Island is experiencing an unprecedented migration crisis, where not only the rafters intercepted by the United States Coast Guard are counted, but also the nationals who travel to Nicaragua and undertake the journey to the southern border of the northern country.
“Illegal migration in rustic and improvised boats without safety equipment, such as a life jacket, is dangerous,” has warned Petty Officer 1st Class Nicole J. Groll, Coast Guard 7th District. “Risking their lives during these adventures causes their loved ones unnecessary anxiety about whether they are safe or lost at sea,” she added.
Recently, the United States Embassy in Havana alerted Cuban rafters that it would reinforce surveillance in the Straits of Florida, with a view to confronting the increase in irregular maritime migration.
The diplomatic legation on the island published on its social network account Twitter several tweets accompanied by a statement, in which he assures that the migration crisis has become a National Security concern.
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