The Mexican Coast Guard intercepted this Wednesday a rustic boat with 11 Cubans who were heading to Isla Mujeres, a Mexican beach in the Caribbean Sea that has been identified by the authorities as one of the escape routes that the rafters are using. According to the Navy, the migrants were intercepted 12 nautical miles from the tourist area.
“They made it known that they were adrift and had left Cuba due to the current crisis,” he told 14ymedio a Navy source who preferred anonymity. “After being treated by naval health personnel and later, transferred to the dock of the Advanced Naval Station, in Puerto Juárez, they were explained that it would be the National Institute of Migration that would define their migratory situation.”
Javier Robles, who has a catamaran that he rents to tourists to practice snorkeling, told this newspaper that the arrival of Cubans in speedboats has increased since the end of last year.
“It is a mafia that is exploiting the route through the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, where surveillance is minimal,” explained the fisherman. “I do not know the amounts, but I do know that it is in dollars. Those who do not bring them through the reserve, they enter them through Cancun and Playa del Carmen.”
Robles affirmed that through Isla Mujeres the Cubans who enter the most are those who venture on rafts, and referred: “Less than a week ago the Navy deployed several troops in search of some rafters who had arrived on a raft that they left abandoned in the beach”.
Last Saturday, a cargo ship with a foreign flag requested the support of the Navy to rescue 16 rafters, 13 men and three womenwhich were adrift 78 nautical miles from Isla Mujeres, according to Noticaribe.
In agreement with the report Sea inside: migrants and castaways at sea, prepared by the United Nations, there are also other routes for migrant smuggling in Rosarito, the beaches from Tijuana to San Diego, Puerto Nuevo-Chula Vista and Ensenada-Popotla. There, the coyote networks charge between 15,000 and 17,000 dollars for irregular transfers to the US These groups recruit fishermen for the trips in exchange for 1,000 dollars per person.
The transit of Cubans through Mexico in their attempt to reach the United States has increased exponentially. So far in fiscal year 2022, which began in October, the Border Patrol has detained 175,147 Cubans.
________________________
Collaborate with our work:
The team of 14ymedio is committed to doing serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for joining us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time becoming a member of our newspaper. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
