A group of fishermen from the community of San Felipe, located on the north coast of the state of Yucatan (Mexico), rescued six Cuban rafters on Tuesday, according to a security source consulted by 14ymedio. “During their journey, two people were lost. Probably because of the strong waves they drowned and were ‘devoured’ by the sea.”
Orlando Pérez Salas, 34, Pedro Enrique Torne Martínez (33), Lázaro Yoandry Palomino Malpica (27), Michael González López (22), Dayana Suárez Plana (20) and Francisco García Hernández (20) were “located 24 miles nautical activities of the town by the crew of the boat Dolphin-28who were returning from fishing”.
According to what they told the fishermen, the castaways “left Cuba on March 15 and wanted to get to Florida (USA) because they can no longer live on the island,” continues the officer. “Eight people got on the raft with the desire to improve their living conditions and that of their family.”
After 20 days, these rafters from Camagüey lost two of their companions whom they identified in their first statements as García and Argáez. “The waves and the wind changed the route of the raft driven by an old motor… They are lucky, if they had not run into the fishermen, we do not know if they would have made landfall.”
The rafters had been adrift on the high seas for almost a month, already without water or food. Radio notice of the rescue was given, so when they arrived at the port of San Felipe, elements of Public Security and the Municipal Police were already waiting for them to be transferred to the Health Center. And they went to Immigration, where they will define their migratory situation.
The arrival of rafters to Yucatan has increased this year. In the first days of April, after the boat they were in began to sink, nine Cuban rafters swam to Puerto del Cuyo, a fishing village of 2,900 inhabitants, and they still do not know if the Mexican authorities give them a humanitarian visa.
Dozens of migrants were found at the Casa Blanca Hotel in #Ixtapaluca. They will be transferred to headquarters @INAMI_mx in #Iztapalapa pic.twitter.com/Yvd8o5yAQP
— Julio Garcia Hdez. (@JulioCesHdez) April 13, 2022
The transit of migrants to the border with the United States keeps the authorities on alert. This Wednesday, more than 100 Cubans, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans were located and detained, who were hidden in the Casablanca motel in the municipality of Ixtapaluca, in the State of Mexico.
“I’m afraid they’ll deport me,” he mentions to 14ymedio Ramon Alcolea. “I am afraid of the Cuban regime, that they turn us over. Nobody wants that, if we leave the island it is to work.”
Alcolea left Cuba more than a month ago on a flight to Managua. “From there we went to Honduras and Guatemala, along that route to (Ciudad) Hidalgo and by road to this place.”
William Sierra is another of the Cubans detained at the transit motel. Before being put on the Municipal Police bus, he says that he has “ten days in Mexico” and it came out that he did not have insurance if they were going to deport him. “We are going to see what we can do, if there is a possibility of asylum.”
The migrants were taken to the so-called Polivalente of the municipal authorities, which is located in Ciudad Deportiva, a place adapted as a shelter, where they will be given medical assistance, food and, if necessary, a bedroom, until they are handed over to Migration.
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