MARATHON, Fla. – Five Cuban migrants made landfall in the Florida Keys Tuesday morning, according to a top U.S. Border Patrol official.
Video from a witness shows the group coming ashore on Sombrero Beach in a homemade boat.
Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar, who leads the agency’s Miami sector, confirmed that agents took the five Cuban migrants into custody.
Witnesses said the migrants were wet and covered with oil and fuel.
“A Cuban boat came in with a half a dozen people on it,” a witness told Local 10 News. “They were happy. They were wet, all wet, and a little oily. There was oil all over the boat.”
The green homemade boat was seen being moved into mangroves nearby.
Some beachgoers said they found a bag of fruit and homemade bars inside the boat.
Slosar did not confirm if any migrants were hurt.
They are expected to be processed by agents.
#𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗡𝗼𝘄:
— Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar (@USBPChiefMIP) March 14, 2023
U.S. Border Patrol agents & @mcsonews responded to a migrant landing in the Florida Keys & encountered 5 Cuban migrants. The migrants arrived to Sombrero Beach on a homemade vessel this morning.#flkeys #floridakeys #tuesday #Cuba pic.twitter.com/U04Yq2v5Sy