Worsening conditions in Cuba are causing a new surge in migrants arriving in Florida by sea
WLRN 91.3 FM | By Tim Padgett
Published October 12, 2021 at 6:10 PM EDT
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U.S. Coast Guard
Cuban migrants in a makeshift balsa, or raft, south of Key West earlier this year.
The discovery of more than 30 Cuban migrants hidden in a fast boat in the Keys is the latest instance of a renewed wave Cubans say the U.S. needs to address.
On Monday, 32 Cuban migrants were found hidden in a fast boat in the Florida Keys — the latest in a surge of Cubans coming here by sea as their economy collapses at home and the U.S. struggles to respond.
Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies discovered the Cubans in the fast boat as it was being towed by their alleged migrant smuggler through Marathon. He was arrested and the migrants were turned over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.
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The day before, police in Key West met 17 Cubans who'd just made landfall after three days at sea in a decrepit vessel. It’s a common scene right now in the Keys and Florida’s southeast coast, and it’s thanks to ever-worsening economic factors in Cuba.
https://www.wlrn.org/news/2021-10-12/worsening-conditions-in-cuba-are-causing-a-new-surge-in-migrants-arriving-in-florida-by-sea
