The US Coast Guard returned 43 Cuban raftsmen on Saturday intercepted in four operations in the last week, with which The total number of those rescued in waters near Florida is about 2,000.
Bernard Webber’s Coast Guard crew repatriated these Cubans, according to a Coast Guard statement.
The first group of rafters was sighted about 40 miles south of Key Largo Tuesday afternoon, while the second was sighted the next day by an air team from Customs and Border Protection Air and Naval Operations Police. They were traveling about 50 miles south of Islamorada in a rustic boat.
The third group was intercepted about 45 miles south of Big Pine Key just after noon on Wednesday, while the fourth was rescued about 65 miles south of Marathon Key on Thursday afternoon.
“The Coast Guard and our partners have increased air and surface patrols in the Florida Straits, Windward and Mona Passages.”reported Petty Officer Nicole J. Groll of Coast Guard District Seven.
“These waterways are dangerous, unpredictable and the risk of loss of life is high,” the official warned.
Since October 1, 2021, the start of the U.S. fiscal year, Coast Guard crews have intercepted 1,952 Cubansa number that exceeds the 1,468 of 2017, the 259 of 2018, the 313 of 2019, the 49 of 2020 and the 838 of 2021.
2016 remains the period with the highest number of rafts intercepted at sea in the past six years.
This situation occurs while U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has reported this this week The number of Cuban migrants at the US land border remains at record highs: After 35,079 people arrived last April, a total of 114,916 people born on the island have entered this country in the current US fiscal year, which began in October 2021.
According to recently released figures, this amount is the result of adding the 6,067 in October; the 6,681. November; December 8, 197; the 9,832 in January; 16,658 in February, 34,442 in March and 35,079 in April. According to these figures, each month the number of migrants in the previous month was exceeded.
This is striking given the 39,303 migrants from the island registered in the 12 months of 2021 and just under 14,015 in 2020.
That’s what US Customs and Border Protection appreciates at the current rate at the end of the current fiscal year, approximately 155,000 Cubans would have arrived in this area.