The United States Coast Guard returned more than 300 rafters between Friday and Saturday, as disclosed by the entity itself.
In accordance with first information, posted yesterdaythe crew of the Coast Guard cutter Robert Yered repatriated 106 Cubans to Cuba on Friday, after 12 interceptions off the Florida coast.
As a curious fact, this return also included four dogs.
#breaking @USCG Cutter Robert Yered’s crew repatriated 106 Cubans, 4 dogs, Fri, to #Cuba.
“In 2016, Wet Foot, Dry Foot policy was repealed,” – Lt. Poulos. “Those rescued/stopped at sea will be repatriated to their country of origin…”
Read: https://t.co/5HfcWSd5i9@USEmbCuba pic.twitter.com/Lm861sH7fQ
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) August 19, 2022
This Saturday, other information reports a new return of Cuban rafters. It specifies that a total of 203 migrants were returned to the island on this day in the Robert Yered and Pablo Valents coast guard ships.
This group included people intercepted in 14 operations at sea, according to the Coast Guard.
#breaking @USCG Cutters Robert Yered, Pablo Valents’ crews repatriate 203 Cubans to #CubaSat.
“In 2016, the Wet Foot, Dry Foot policy was repealed.”- Lt. Poulos, Coast Guard District Seven.#DontTakeToTheSea
Read: https://t.co/1czTXayLcC @USEmbCuba pic.twitter.com/zFceUyWoUH
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) August 20, 2022
All the operations in which the rafters of both groups were captured took place between last Saturday and this Thursday.
The information from the Coast Guard does not detail the sex or age of the returned migrants, although they do ensure that once aboard a patrol boat, they all receive food, water, shelter and basic medical attention.
In their messages, the US authorities warn that those who are intercepted at sea will be returned to the country of origin or the country from which they departed in order to reach the United States.
In a third message on Twitteralso recommend that US residents interested in learning about potentially intercepted relatives should contact their local government representative.
Since October 1, 2021, the Coast Guard has intercepted 4,440 Cuban men and women, according to the institution. The figure is close to that of 2016, when they totaled 5,396, and is much higher than that of the five years prior (2017-2021) to the current fiscal year.
By land, the number of migrants from the Island arriving in the United States is much higher, since according to official figures they add up to more than 140,000 from October to April alone.
Cubans trying to reach US territory both by land and by sea have increased significantly in recent months due to the deep economic crisis that Cuba is experiencing. The number of irregular migrants already exceeds those who left the Island during the so-called Mariel crisis.
