The exodus of Cuban rafters to the US seems to have no limits. In just two days, on August 3 and 4, 108 people from the Island made landfall in the Florida Keys. The Border Patrol registered the 12 boats in which the Cubans were sailing, most of them fishing boats and rustic boats, with signs reading “Freedom” and “Christ, my guide.”
Several agents “detained the migrants, who were taken into custody,” as reported on Twitter officer Walter Slosar, head of the border police force. During the morning of this Thursday, the arrival of 31 rafters was reported, aboard three fishing boats, five of which arrived at Playa Sombrero, in Marathon, 15 at Isla Valores, in the Low Keys, and another 11 at Cayo Largo.
The spokesman for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Adam Linhardt, indicated that this flow of rafters responds to the worsening of the humanitarian and economic crisis that the Island is experiencing, with a resurgence of repression and the economic crisis, which includes a rise in the cost of living, the devaluation of the Cuban peso and an increase in uncertainty about the future of the country.
This Wednesday, official Slosar reported the arrival of 25 rafters in a wooden boat lined with a canvas, to which they adapted the engine of a vehicle that was supplied with fuel from two small drums.
This Wednesday, the officer slozar He reported the arrival of 25 rafters in a wooden boat lined with a canvas, to which they adapted the engine of a vehicle that was supplied with fuel from two small drums and in which, in addition, oars were found.
The group, from Artemisa, was made up of three men and two women, and was taken into federal custody after a health exam. That same day 20 more people arrived, distributed in two rafts.
Given the number of landings, the Hialeah-based Rescate evangelical church set up the study rooms it had available on its premises to provide refuge for the rafters. Thanks to the donations received by Pastor David Monduy, leader of the church, the bedrooms have been refurbished with mobile showers, and other shows of support for the Cubans are planned, depending on the medium Local 10 News.
Coast Guard data indicates that as of October 1, 2021, crews they have intercepted 3,739 Cubans.
The Cuban Government insists on demanding from the Washington Administration the fulfillment of the migratory agreements signed between both countries. He attributes the increase in illegal migration to the United States to the validity of the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, which allows Cuban nationals to apply for permanent residence in the United States after one year and one day of remaining in that country. Although in reality, not all those who manage to cross US borders can apply to this regulation.
In an attempt to try to prevent the exodus of Cubans, Lieutenant Mario Gil, of the US Coast Guard, invited “families and friends to encourage their loved ones to find a safe and legal path to the United States.”
The Cuban exodus is also carried out by other means and is subject to many penalties. This Thursday, a fishing vessel spotted a raft with several people five miles from Isla Pérez, in the Gulf of Mexico, a fact that was immediately reported to the Navy of that country. Three of the rafters showed signs of dehydration and had not eaten for two days. The group was handed over to the National Migration Institute.
On the other hand, the Central American “bridge” continues to be one of the most frequent ways to reach the United States. The official figures offered by Honduras record the passage of 44,000 people, the majority from the island, who were imposed a $200 fine.
This Thursday, the official newspaper La Gaceta announced that the Honduran government published a legislative decree that exonerates migrants from paying this fine, which applied to all migrants who entered through unauthorized border points and to whom article 104 numeral was applied. 1 of the Immigration and Immigration Law.
With this suspension, the Honduran Migration Institute also ordered that necessary humanitarian assistance be offered to migrants in a situation of mobility, in addition to identifying international protection needs for those groups that are in a situation of vulnerability, such as women, children, communities LGBTIQ+ and older adults.
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