Coast Guard returns 29 migrants to Cuba after intercepting 4 vessels

MIAMI – Two Cubans with a complicated tale of woes attempted a voyage to South Florida in what the U.S. Coast Guard described on Tuesday as “a 10-foot styrofoam hull rustic vessel.”

They were among the 29 Cubans the U.S. Coast Guard returned to the Communist-run island after failed attempts to get away from economic ruin during the coronavirus pandemic.

Last year alone, the Coast Guard reported intercepting 49 Cuban migrants at sea. Last week, the Coast Guard intercepted 32 people in four vessels coming from Cuba off the Florida Keys.

• On Aug. 2, there was a creaking vessel with 20 Cubans. Agents didn’t return one of the Cuban migrants after determining there was a “valid manifestation of fear.”
• On Aug. 3, crews found five Cubans at sea in an inflatable raft with a motor. They were wearing life vests with the U.S. flag. A day later, they found the vessel with the hull made out of styrofoam.
• On Aug. 6, they found a vessel with five people, two of whom were human smuggling suspects.

The U.S. Coast Guard reported crews have interdicted 648 Cubans since Oct. 1st. In 10 months, they more than doubled the 259 Cuban migrants found in 2018 and the 313 Cuban migrants found in 2019.

Lt. Cmdr. Mario Gil, Coast Guard Liaison officer released a statement Tuesday with a warning the survivors of the Cuban exodus are all too familiar with: “Taking to the seas in a less than sea-worthy vessel is dangerous and can result in loss of life.”

ARCHIVES: SOS Cuba protests

‘People in Cuba are going hungry’

TWISF interview: Eduardo J. Padrón on July 25

Coverage on July 16

• Mother of journalist Henry Constantin fears for his life, after he was detained in Cuba
• Gente de Zona on Cuba: ‘It is the people who are marching’
• DHS: Florida boaters risk fines, prison by going to Cuba

Coverage on July 15

• SOS Cuba protesters march in Hialeah ‘for Cuba to be free, just like we are’
• DeSantis calls on Biden to help restore internet access to Cuba
• Cuba’s leader lays some blame for protests on his government
• Passengers arriving at MIA from Havana talk about experience in Cuba
• DeSantis presses Biden to help keep internet flowing in Cuba

Coverage on July 14

• Hundreds of Miami’s SOS Cuba protesters sing ‘Patria y Vida’ in Little Havana
• Cuba’s president says government has some blame for protests
• Miami SOS Cuba boaters eager to deliver humanitarian aid, show support
• Violent crackdown in Cuba: Soldiers leave ‘pool of blood’ during arrest in Cárdenas, activist says
• Cuban government uses special units to intimidate protestors on the island

Coverage on July 13

• Tamiami Park’s ‘SOS Cuba’ rally marks anniversary of 1994 tugboat massacre
• Drivers on Okeechobee Road show solidarity with SOS Cuba protesters disrupting traffic
• Miami-Dade ‘SOS Cuba’ protesters on Palmetto Expressway: US needs to end communism
• For 3rd night, Little Havana drivers honk to join ‘SOS Cuba’ protest outside Versailles

Coverage on July 12

• Cuban Americans in Miami warn China-Russia intervention could cause ‘bloodbath’ in Cuba
• Alleged witness asks Florida friend to let world know police brutality followed Havana protest
• Cuban government aggressively suppresses protests
• Biden calls ‘remarkable’ Cuba protests a ‘call for freedom’
• Cuban leaders beef up police patrols after rare protests
• Cuba’s internet cutoff: A go-to tactic to suppress dissent
• #SOSCuba: Local celebrities, artists react to Cuban protests

Coverage on July 11

• People take to streets of Cuba and Miami, demanding freedom for struggling island nation

For more about the situation in Cuba, visit the Local 10 News’ “en español” page.