187 Cubans caught by USCG in Florida Keys

By Sherrica Thompson

Staff Writer

#USA, August 20, 2022 – United States immigration officials have reported that 187 Cuban migrants were arrested over the weekend after landing in the Florida Keys on ten separate boats.

Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Walter Slosar, posted images of the small boats without passengers on Twitter.

The Miami Herald reported that a large group was seen early Sunday through a Livestream at the Southernmost Point buoy in Key West. Dozens of men, women and children were captured in the images.

The number of Cuban migrants detained in Florida has increased in recent years. Between last October and June, Customs and Border Protection officials found and detained more than 1,300 Cubans arriving in Florida. During that same period two years ago the number was hovering around 200 and 300.

The U.S. Coast Guard says it has stopped nearly 4,000 Cubans at sea since last October. For the past few years since the end of “wet foot, dry foot” in early 2017, the agency had seen a drop in Cubans stopped at sea. The policy allowed most Cubans who made it to U.S. soil to pursue residency.

The number of Cubans migrating in boats is still a small fraction of the larger wave of Cubans who are crossing the U.S.- Mexico border. About 155,000 have arrived since last October.

Cuba is experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades due to the COVID -19 pandemic and the tightening of U.S. sanctions.