At least 10 Cuban raftsmen arrived in the Florida Keys in the early hours of Sunday morning, according to the United States Coast Guard report.
According to the statement, the 10 immigrants were arrested and are being held by the border guards.
“At 2:30 a.m., Border Patrol agents and @mcsonews responded to a maritime smuggling incident that made landfall in the Florida Keys. 10 migrants from Cuba were arrested. The investigation is ongoing,” Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar said on Twitter, without giving further details.
At 2:30 p.m., #border patrol agents & @mcsonews responded to a maritime smuggling incident that landed in the Florida Keys. 10 migrants out #Cuba were taken into custody. The investigations are still ongoing. #Sunday morning #Florida pic.twitter.com/7nFszSvpIt
— Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar (@USBPChiefMIP) May 22, 2022
In images shared by Slosar, some of the rafters can be seen in the sand while border guards inspect others.
The identities of the raftsmen have not been released at the time of this writing, nor has the place they left Cuba or the date.
Details of the ship were also not disclosed, although authorities said it was “a maritime contraband”.
This week, following the repatriation of 48 Cubans from the United States, they warned of the vigilance maintained to avoid these events and called to avoid these dangerous journeys.
Coast Guard District Seven Safety Officer Robert Copeland warned that “the Coast Guard and our partners have increased air and surface patrols in the Florida Straits, Windward and Mona Passages.”
“These waterways are dangerous, unpredictable and the risk of loss of life is high,” Copeland added.
It was the crew of the Coast Guard ship Charles Sexton who brought 48 Cubans back from the Florida Keys after five bans.
This is the seventh repatriation in May and most of the migrants repatriated are from the western provinces of Matanzas, Artemisa and Havana, and central Villa Clara.
They all left the island irregularly by sea, according to a recent report broadcast by the Cuban regime’s state television.
Similarly, this week from Mexican territory, 49 irregular migrants were returned by air from Cuba (24 men, 22 women and 3 minors), while another 19 were returned from the Bahamas, including 17 men and 2 women.
“Mexico has so far carried out 17 repatriation operations since last January and during this period 1,085 Cuban migrants have returned from this North American country,” EFE said.
“In recent months, there has been a significant increase in the flow of irregular Cuban migrants seeking to travel to the United States, using the sea as a route or following other routes through Central American countries,” the agency argued.
Despite the warnings, Cubans continue to make dangerous journeys to escape the island, so much so that in the new fiscal year there has been a record number of migrants entering the United States from Cuba.
From last October to last April, nearly 115,000 Cubans crossed the US southern border, according to figures released this week by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).