On Sunday the Coast Guard sent to Cuba 273 Cuban rafters who arrived in South Florida between December 31 and January 2.
The group was deported aboard the cutter Mohawk directly to the port of Matanzas, confirmed spokesman John Beal, of the Miami-based Seventh Coast Guard District.
Another 53 rafters were apprehended by Border Patrol on Sunday when they arrived in the Florida Keys. Four are in an unidentified hospital, where they are being treated for dehydration.
Florida activates the National Guard before the massive arrival of Cuban rafters
“These illegal trips are always dangerous and often deadly. We are working closely with partner agencies to save lives and prevent illegal entry into the United States through our southeastern maritime border. Those intercepted at sea will be repatriated,” Beal warned.
On the other hand, on Friday, at the same time that 90 other Cuban rafters arrived, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an executive order that allows mobilizing National Guard troops and allocating new state resources to face the new wave of immigration, which had a point critical last week with the arrival of hundreds of Cubans and Haitians to the island of Dry Tortugas.
The governor’s order followed the Biden administration’s announcement of a new immigration plan for Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans.
