A group of 31 Cuban rafters was returned to the island this Wednesday by the United States Coast Guard (USCG).
The rafters had been intercepted days ago at sea by the US Coast Guard, after making two illegal departures from the island, one through Havana and the other through Matanzas, according to official sources.
The group now returned was made up of 28 men and three women, according to the Ministry of the Interior (Minint). The official information does not detail how many of them had left from the Cuban capital and how many from the neighboring province of Matanzas.
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On the other hand, the Minint note does point out that one of the rafters was on parole when he left Cuba and, consequently, “will be made available to the corresponding courts for the revocation of said benefit.”
In addition, he adds that another of those returned is under investigation for “being the alleged perpetrator of a crime” for which he was being investigated before his illegal departure.
More than 600 returned migrants
With the rafters returned this Wednesday by the United States Coast Guard, the number of 600 migrants returned to Cuba from different countries this year has already been exceeded.
With yesterday’s 31, there are now 601 migrants returned so far in 2024. In addition to the North American country, other nations such as Mexico, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands have also paid taxes to this number.
More than 10 thousand Cuban migrants were intercepted in Mexico between January and March
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The governments of Havana and Washington have a bilateral agreement so that all migrants who arrive by sea to US territory are deported to the island.
Additionally, in April 2023, deportation flights from the United States resumed, mainly for people considered “inadmissible” after being detained on the border with Mexico.
According to data published by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), cited by EFELast April, 17,870 Cubans arrived on US soil, the majority across the land border with Mexico, in the midst of the strong wave of migration that the island is suffering.
In this scenario, the Government of Cuba stressed its “firm” commitment to “safe and orderly” migration. In addition, he has warned about the danger and life-threatening conditions that illegal departures from the country represent, something that the United States authorities also periodically warn about.
EFE / OnCuba
