USVI authorities detain 35 Cuban migrants

USVI authorities detain 35 Cuban migrants
Published on November 15, 2013

ST CROIX, USVI -- US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) field
operations officers on Wednesday evening took custody of 35 Cuban
migrants that allegedly landed in Coakley Bay, in the northern coast of
the island.

USVI police notified CBP officers at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport, and
reaching Coakley Bay they found a group of 13 females, 21 males and 1
minor, all in good health.

The group was transported to the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport for
immigration processing the group under the "Wet Foot, Dry Foot" policy;
a 1994 amendment of the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966.

"Migrant smuggling ventures at sea place many vulnerable people in
harm's way, and fortunately these folks were lucky" said Marcelino
Borges, director of CBP Field Operations in Puerto Rico and the US
Virgin Islands. "Our goal remains to arrest and obtain a conviction
against smugglers who violate our laws."

Last Friday two Haitian migrants died attempting to reach the island of
Mona between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

According to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, while
smuggling by sea accounts only for a small portion of overall migrant
smuggling around the world, the particular dangers of irregular travel
at sea make it a priority for response; due to the reported fact that
more deaths occur by sea.

Source: "Caribbean News Now!: USVI authorities detain 35 Cuban migrants"
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http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/headline-USVI-authorities-detain-35-Cuban-migrants-18659.html