MIAMI, United States. – Some 125 Cuban rafters who are in migrant centers in the Bahamas hope to be repatriated to the island “in the coming days and weeks”, reported on Twitter Ernesto Soberón, General Director of Consular Affairs and Cuban Residents Abroad of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) of Cuba.
“Currently, there are 125 Cuban citizens in the Bahamas, in the centers designed to receive irregular migrants; whose return to Cuba will take place in the coming days and weeks, in accordance with the protocols established for these cases,” the official specified.
According to the same source, during 2022, 644 migrants who arrived in Bahamian territory irregularly have been returned to Cuba.
Soberón also assured that the Cuban Embassy in the Bahamas “maintains permanent contact with the local authorities, to guarantee the attention” of the Cuban migrants.
In October of this year transcended that the government of the Bahamas had spent more than $2.3 million repatriating migrants, mostly Cubans and Haitians, up to that point of the year alone, according to the EFE report.
“It costs approximately $400 per person to repatriate to Haiti and $305 per person to Cuba,” Ferguson said at a news conference.
In June of this year, the Attorney General of the Bahamas, Ryan Pinder, assured that the numbers of migrants arriving on the coasts of his country, particularly Cubans, were “through the roof,” according to the newspaper report. The Tribune.
“We are seeing a significant number of Cuban immigrants coming in and we believe we have to redistribute Immigration officers across the archipelago to better combat this,” he said.
“Our number of illegal immigrants, seizures and repatriations is through the roof; frankly much higher than we’ve seen before, so this is an effort to try to mitigate illegal migration,” he added.
Bahamas It is not the only territory of the Caribbean who has had to take emergency measures due to the wave of Cuban migrants.
At the end of April of this year, the Customs and Border Control Service (CBC) of the Cayman Islands activated a contingency plan given the massive arrival of migrants -including numerous Cubans- to the coasts of Cayman Brac, according to the media. Cayman Marl Road.
Currently, Cuba is experiencing a migratory exodus that has already surpassed the Mariel crisis. Every week, dozens of cuban rafters they jump into the sea in an attempt to reach the coast of Florida. Most of them are intercepted by the US authorities and returned to the Island.
However, others land in territories far from the United States, not counting those who disappear and even die at sea.
Receive information from CubaNet on your cell phone through WhatsApp. Send us a message with the word “CUBA” on the phone +525545038831, You can also subscribe to our electronic newsletter by giving click here.
