the Dominican Republic Navy reported this week about the arrest of a group of Cuban who tried to get in Puerto Ricoto take advantage of its status as a Commonwealth of the United States.
Operations by authorities in the provinces of La Altagracia, El Seibo and San Pedro de Macorís thwarted the plans of a total of 113 people, including 85 Haitians, 24 Cubans and three Dominicans, from whom they seized three vehicles, two clandestinely manufactured boats, two outboard motors and 13 barrels of gasoline.
They also rescued an unidentified body until the information was released on the Navy’s official Facebook page. The detainees “wanted to leave the country illegally,” the facility said, and “to travel illegally by sea to the neighboring island of Puerto Rico.”
The Cubans were intercepted by a patrol in the Cabuya beach area of San Pedro de Macorís. The group of 28 people consisted of 24 Cuban nationals, three Haitians and one Dominican, traveling in a Nissan E24 minibus. During this operation they found a lifeless body on the beach.
“The Dominican Republic Navy reiterates its call to all citizens not to be fooled by unscrupulous people who organize this type of illegal travel and risk their lives and the peace of their families by using fragile boats that do not have minimum safety standards to withstand the onslaught of the sea or inclement weather,” the military institution warned.
the Cubans emigrate illegally despite the dangers, escape in gangs from the precarious economic, social and political situation on the island. They have also ventured via other routes, through Nicaragua, Russia or Serbia.
Since October 1, 2021, the start of the U.S. federal fiscal year, authorities have intercepted more than 900 Cubans attempting to reach U.S. shores by sea, compared to 838 during the entire fiscal year that ended earlier September 30 ended. 2021