Miami, .- The Coast Guard rescued in the Florida Keys, in the extreme south of Florida, 26 Cubans who tried to reach the United States illegally. in a rustic wooden boat that was about to capsize and deported 25 of them this Tuesday.
The institution said in a statement that the immigrants were rescued in good health, but did not specify when the boat was intercepted.
One of the Cubans was referred to the Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and faces possible criminal charges that were not detailed by the authorities.
The other 25 were deported to Cuba on Tuesday in a Coast Guard boat.
“It is fortunate that the ship did not sink or ended in tragedy, as we have seen recently in the Florida Straits,” said Capt. Jason Ryan of the Seventh Coast Guard District in Miami.
Immigrants in distress were spotted by a boat 77 kilometers (48 miles) southeast of Long Key, in the Florida Keys, a string of islands and the nearest point in the United States. To Cuba.
The Coast Guard thanked the “good Samaritan” and the United States Navy who contributed to the rescue.
In January of 2017, then President Barack Obama (2009-2017) canceled the “wet feet / dry feet” policy decreed in 1995, whereby Cubans who touched territory were favored with the Cuban Adjustment Act and could stay in the country. country and even obtain permanent residence, while the others were deported to the island.
Shortly before the elimination of this benefit, an unusual arrival of migrants from the Caribbean country was recorded in the Straits of Florida, in view of the fact that many anticipated the end of “wet feet / dry feet”, a migratory wave that has declined in the last years. (EFEUSA)
