MIAMI, United States.- The United States Coast Guard (USCG) repatriated 64 Cuban rafters intercepted near the coast of Florida, according to a statement issued this Wednesday by the Seventh District of the USCG.
According to information disseminated by the federal agency, the Cuban migrants, in addition to a dog, were returned to the island by the crew of the coast guard Charles David Jr.
The 64 Cuban rafters were intercepted in maritime areas near the Florida coast in different operations between last Friday and Monday, says the official document.
A first part was located on Friday, August 26, by a crew from Air and Marine Operations of Customs and Border Protection, who notified the USCG guards of the Key West Sector that a rustic vessel, at approximately 12:30 am, it was located about 40 miles south of Key Largo.
On Saturday the 27th a second group of rafters was found, around 3:00 pm, about 32 miles south of Key West. The next day, a third group was intercepted about 10 miles south of Plantation Key at 10:00 a.m.
That same Sunday the 28th in the afternoon and on Monday, the last group of the 64 Cubans was located, near Cayo Pan de Azúcar and the Marquesas Islands.
“Attempting to illegally migrate through the Straits of Florida and the Windward and Mona Passages with unseaworthy vessels is extremely dangerous,” Petty Officer 2nd Class Ryan Dickinson of the USCG 7th District warned in the statement. .
“No one should risk their lives on unsafe rustic boats in unpredictable seas,” he added.
Since October 1, 2021, the date on which the current fiscal year began, the USCG has intercepted 5,006 Cubans at sea, a figure that is close to that of 2016, the year in which 5,396 Cubans jumped into the sea for fear of the end of the “Dry Feet, Wet Feet” policy, which ended, in effect, in January 2017 by decree of then President Barack Obama.
The current Cuban migration crisis has produced the highest figures in the last five years. Cubans flee the communist paradise by the thousands, both by sea, land and air.
This Wednesday it emerged that the United States and Mexico deported 148 irregular migrants to the island in compliance with the bilateral agreements between both countries and the Cuban government, according to information offered by official media.
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