It happened last Tuesday, but the official press reported it this Monday: the Border Guard Troops (TGF) detained ten individuals in Bahía Honda, Artemisa, for “human trafficking.”
Two of the detainees, account Granma, are Cubans residing in the United States who “illegally” entered Cuban jurisdictional waters aboard a speedboat, one mile from the Punta Gobernadora lighthouse, in that locality in Artemisa. Both were transferred to the captaincy of the Port of Mariel, next to the ship, to “carry out the corresponding expert and investigative actions.”
The rest of those arrested, six men and two women, were intercepted at Playa el Pino, in the same municipality, and taken to a police station.
It is symptomatic that the official media dedicate space to emigration, extensively documented by the independent press. In the midst of one of the most important exoduses since the Balseros Crisis, in the 1990s, it is, however, an issue that does not find an echo in government discourse.
the note of Granma also offers figures: from the beginning of last year until today, the TGF, dependent on the Ministry of the Interior, have captured 20 “infringing” speedboats, which they judge “organized and executed by unscrupulous elements linked to criminal organizations abroad, in order to make a profit, and who have little or no interest in the lives of emigrants”.
The rest of those arrested, six men and two women, were intercepted at Playa el Pino, in the same municipality, and taken to a police station.
In these operations, they continue, 38 people traffickers were arrested, “of them 33 Cubans living abroad, four Mexicans and one American.” “In just 25 days, three speedboats have been captured and seven traffickers from abroad have been arrested,” says the report, which acknowledges that “since the middle of last year, there has been an increase in the number of human trafficking operations. organized in the United States, and bound for that territory”.
The newspaper of the Communist Party of Cuba concludes by blaming the northern neighbor for the bloodletting of Cubans: “The socioeconomic impact caused by the genocidal economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States Government against Cuba and the failure to comply with the migratory agreements by that country encourage the human trafficking and irregular migration in general.
From the US, the Coast Guard reported this weekend the repatriation of 44 Cubans. The same body previously announced the arrest of two smugglers and the repatriation of another 40 Cubans, arrested in two different actions, on Sunday January 22 and last Tuesday in the Florida Keys.
Since October 1, 2021, the coast guard has intercepted 690 Cubans, according to their own data.
________________________
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 journal. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
