Coast Guard repatriates 13 Cubans rescued by fishermen off Keys

Posted on Thursday, 12.06.12

Coast Guard repatriates 13 Cubans rescued by fishermen off Keys
By CAROL ROSENBERG
crosenberg@miamiherald.com

The Coast Guard on Thursday handed over to Cuba authorities 13 migrants
who were saved from a sinking boat south of the Keys last week.

A fishing boat, the Rosa Marie, rescued the would-be migrants Nov. 30
from a foundering 15-foot craft south of Marquesas, according to a Coast
Guard statement. A 110-foot cutter, the Ocracoke, took custody of the
Cubans and eventually turned them over to the crew of the Coast Guard
cutter Pea Island.

The migrants were dropped off at Bahia de Cabañas, the port designated
for repatriations under the 1990s U.S.-Cuban migration accords.

The announcement included a stern warning from the Coast Guard's chief
of law enforcement for the Miami District. Capt. Brendan McPherson cited
the extreme risk to migrants trying to "illegally enter the United
States ... aboard dangerously overloaded and ill-equipped vessels."

"The Coast Guard with our partner agencies will continue to patrol
vigilantly to rescue and repatriate undocumented migrants who take to
the sea," said McPherson.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/06/3130252/coast-guard-repatriates-13-cubans.html#storylink=misearch