The U.S. Coast Guard has intercepted a total of 3,067 rafters from Cuba in the last 9 months. The figure was recorded on Wednesday after the arrest of a group of 15 immigrants who tried to reach the Florida Keys in a boat. This was announced on Twitter by Walter N. Slosar, head of the Maritime Rescue Corps in the Miami sector.
N.Solar informed on his social network that three of these people suffered dehydration and were treated at a local hospital.
Earlier today, #BorderPatrol agents, @CBPAMORegDirSe & #USCG responded to a migrant landing in #KeyWest #Florida. 15 Cuban nationals were taken into custody after arriving on a homemade vessel. 3 of those individuals suffered from dehydration & were treated at a local hospital. pic.twitter.com/zpEfJF7NvM
— Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar (@USBPChiefMIP) July 6, 2022
E'Bria Karega of Coast Guard District Seven assured that "Coast Guard crews maintain an active presence with air and sea assets every day through the Florida Straits to save lives by rescuing people from unsafe environments," as reported by Diario de Cuba.
The highest number of interceptions was in 2016
In 2016, U.S. authorities intercepted a total of 5,396 Cubans, at that time the wet foot/dry foot policy was still in force, but with its imminent repeal by President Barack Obama , the population rushed to the sea in precarious boats to try to reach U.S. soil . The historical figure has not been surpassed so far, but since October 2021 in the framework of the current fiscal year, the surge of immigrants from Cuba has been surprising.
On the other hand, the numbers are also alarming if we look at the situation at the U.S. land border. The media France24 published that from October 2021 to March 2022, more than 78,000 Cubans entered the country through the border with Mexico, a figure that doubles the number of migrants who left Cuba during the so-called "rafters' crisis" in 1994.
Given the poverty, precariousness and repression afflicting the Cuban population, the cases of those who venture to escape from Miguel Díaz-Canel's regime could continue to increase.
