Immigration
Florida: 4 Cuban rafters intercepted in Key West
Agents and local neighbors reported the presence of migrants in the área, as reported by agent Walter N. Slosar on his official Twitter feed
May 16, 2022 11:16am
Updated: May 17, 2022 6:11am
The U.S. Border Patrol intercepted four Cuban rafters in Key West, Florida, on May 15.
Agents and local neighbors reported the presence of migrants in the area, as reported by agent Walter N. Slosar on his official Twitter feed.
The rafters include four adult males from the Caribbean island.
So far, the investigation is still ongoing, U.S. authorities added.
#HappeningNow: Agents & local partners responded to a maritime smuggling event in #KeyWest & apprehended 4 adult male Cuban migrants. The investigation is still ongoing.#sunday #florida pic.twitter.com/BxfQ6UJKZ3
— Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar (@USBPChiefMIP) May 15, 2022
On May 3, the U.S. Border Patrol intercepted a group of 13 Cuban rafters at a local beach in the city of Marathon, Florida.
The migrants arrived in a homemade boat in Marathon and were apprehended by the Border Patrol.
On May 10, the U.S. Coast Guard repatriated 61 Cuban rafters after seven interceptions in the Florida Keys.
As of October 1, 2021, Coast Guard crews intercepted more than 1,700 Cubans, compared to 5,396 in the Fiscal Year 2016, 1,468 in 2017, 259 in 2018, 313 in 2019, 49 in 2020, and 838 in 2021.
In late April, migration talks took place between the U.S. and the Cuban regime, which was severely criticized by the opposition.
Representatives of organizations from Nicaragua and Venezuela joined the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance (ARC) to denounce what they considered "a step of weakness" by the Biden Administration towards Havana.
In the last two years, Cuban and U.S. authorities have reported an increase in the migratory flow through the Straits of Florida due to the worsening economic and political crisis on the island.
