Coast Guard repatriates 153 Cuban migrants

Coast Guard repatriates 153 Cuban migrants

Two Coast Guard cutters repatriated Cuban migrants from Key West to Cuba
on Wednesday
Cuban migrants attempting illegal entry to the U.S. by sea has increased
dramatically in 2016
BY HOWARD COHEN
hcohen@miamiherald.com

The U.S. Coast Guard repatriated 153 Cuban migrants to Bahia de Cabañas,
Cuba, from Key West on Wednesday.

The group did not include the 21 Cuban migrants who climbed a lighthouse
in the Florida Keys on May 20. An evidentiary hearing to determine their
fate was set for Thursday by a Miami federal judge.

The crew of the Coast Guard cutter Kathleen Moore carried 78 migrants,
and the Raymond Evans was used to repatriate the other 75 migrants. The
repatriations are drawn from eight separate migrant interdictions at sea
within the last week in the south Florida Straits, according to the
Coast Guard.

The numbers of Cuban migrants attempting such voyages have increased
dramatically recently, with 673 Cubans taking to the sea in May, a jump
of 155-percent compared to May 2015. In addition, since Oct. 1, at least
4,176 Cubans have attempted to illegally migrate to the U.S. via sea
craft compared to 4,473 in all of 2015.

"Immigration policies have not changed, and we urge people not to take
to the ocean in unseaworthy vessels," said Capt. Mark Gordon, chief of
enforcement for the Coast Guard 7th District in a release.

Source: Coast Guard repatriates 153 Cuban migrants | In Cuba Today -
http://www.incubatoday.com/news/article81246112.html