According to official sources, the United States Border Patrol has detained 59 Cuban migrants east of Sasabe in the Arizona desert.
The Cubans were traveling with five citizens from Guatemala and Honduras when they were arrested by Tucson station agents, reported John R. Modlin, chief agent of the Tucson sector of the United States Border Patrol.
“The group consisted mainly of adults from #Cuba. Five were citizens of #Guatemala and #Honduras. The group was transported to Tucson for medical evaluation and treatment,” Modlin wrote Twitter.
These arrests have become frequent in recent days as the wave of Cuban migration increases as a result of the economic, political and health crisis Cuba is going through. Cubans with fewer resources have chosen illegal migration despite the dangers, venturing through Nicaragua, Russia or Serbia.
According to United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics, more than 80,000 Cubans crossed the southern border into the United States between 2021 and 2022 so far.
The numbers have increased significantly in recent months: in December 2021, 7,983 Cubans entered via the southern border, in January 2022 the number rose to 9,720 and in February to 16,550.
According to the CBP, more than 40,000 Cubans entered through the southern border between November 2021 and February 2022. For the entire previous fiscal year, between October 2020 and October 2021, it was just over 38,000.
There were also several arrests and repatriations by sea.
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