The Government of the United States returned to Cuba a group of 31 rafters who tried to reach the North American country after leaving the island illegally by sea, according to the Ministry of the Interior (Minint).
The US Coast Guard Service handed over the irregular migrants through the Port of Orozco -Bahía Honda-, in the western province of Artemisa.
The members of the group -29 men and 2 women, mostly residents in the provinces of Matanzas (west) and Cienfuegos (center).– They had participated, indistinctly, in three illegal exits from the country, according to the Ministry’s note.
With this return operation number 34, there are 2,297 irregular migrants returned in 2023 from various countries in the region. The previous week, 64 undocumented Cubans from the United States, the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas were deported to the island.and another 12 returnees came from the Dominican Republic.
The danger and life-threatening conditions represented by illegal departures from the country by sea
Cuba maintains that it maintains its commitment “with a regular, safe and orderly migration“and insists on”the danger and life-threatening conditions posed by illegal departures from the country by sea“.
For several months now, the United States has seen record numbers of migrants trying to cross irregularly at its southern border, motivated, for the most part, by a new unprecedented migratory exodus from Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
In the case of Cuba, a total of 224,607 citizens arrived at the southern US border in fiscal year 2022 -between October 1, 2021 and September 30, 2022-, according to the Customs and Border Protection Office of that nation. .
According to data from the US Coast Guard, in the current fiscal year that body has intercepted 5,576 Cuban rafters, a figure close to the 6,182 that it apprehended in the previous period.
The government of Washington implemented at the beginning of this year a policy to welcome 30,000 migrants per month from Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua. In parallel, it will immediately expel migrants from those countries who try to cross into its territory irregularly to Mexico. Mexico, for its part, agreed to admit 30,000 migrants a month who are expelled from US territory.
The US prolongs the emergency that prevents its vessels from entering Cuban waters
The United States decided to extend for another year the declaration of national emergency related to Cuba, in force since 1996, which prevents US vessels from entering Cuban territorial waters.
“I am extending the national emergency with respect to Cuba” regarding “the regulation of the anchoring and movement of vessels,” is indicated in the document signed by US President Joe Biden, released by the White House.
The statement notes that “the unauthorized entry of any US-registered vessel into Cuban territorial waters continues to be detrimental to US foreign policy” and “could facilitate mass migration from Cuba“.
The emergency declaration was imposed by former President Bill Clinton in March 1996, after Cuban MiG fighters shot down two planes of the Brothers to the Rescue on February 24 of that year, with a balance of four deaths. This group used to carry out searches for rafters fleeing the island in precarious boats.
Cuba has faced a US embargo since 1962, which was relaxed after the reestablishment of relations in 2015. In 2016, Washington authorized cruise passengers to stop in Cuba, a decision that was reversed by Republican Donald Trump (2017-2021).
The Trump administration greatly intensified sanctions against Havana, in a policy that has changed very little under his successor.
Writing Latest News
*With information from EFE and AFP
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