Miami, Dec. 27
The US Coast Guard repatriated 143 Cuban immigrants on Tuesday as a result of 10 vessel interceptions, most of them in the waters of the Florida Keys, in the extreme south of Florida, the institution said in a statement.
The most recent intervention by the Coast Guard occurred last Friday about 15 miles (24 km) from Long Key, in the center of the Florida Keys.
And last Wednesday an HC-144 plane from the Miami Coast Guard Air Base alerted security guards in the Key West sector of a precarious vessel sailing about 32 miles (51 km) south of the city of Marathon.
The US Coast Guard District Seven Southeast reported in a statement that US residents “seeking information about a family member possibly intercepted” by the Coast Guard” should contact their local government representative.
On the other hand, this Sunday morning 15 Cuban immigrants who were sailing in a rustic boat made landfall in Key Colony Beach, in the Florida Keys, and were detained by Border Patrol (CBP) agents, the institution said Tuesday in social networks.
“The Coast Guard and our partner agencies maintain an active presence in the Florida Straits and Windward and Mona Passages to save lives and encourage safe and legal migration,” said Lt. Connor Ives of the Seventh Guard District in a statement. coastal.
“Anyone trying to migrate illegally by sea will be intercepted and returned to their country of origin,” Ives added.
So far in fiscal year 2023, that is, since October 1, 2022, the Coast Guard has intercepted 3,839 Cubans at sea, a significant increase in arrests compared to the 838 intercepted in the entire fiscal year of 2021 and the 6,182 in 2022.
According to figures provided by the US authorities, in fiscal year 2020 there were only 49 Cuban immigrants intercepted, and in 2018 the number reached 259, while in 2017 and 2016 1,468 and 5,396 Cubans were intercepted at sea, respectively.