Five Cuban migrants rescued by Mexico-bound cruise after raft’s motor failed – 15 SWAM back to Cuban

Five Cuban migrants were rescued by a cruise ship and 15 others swam back to communist island after their United States-bound raft broke down at sea, Mexico’s National Institute of Migration revealed.

The group attempted to flee Cuba on Monday but encountered problems along the way to Florida when the vessel’s motor broke down, the Mexican immigration agency said in a statement Thursday.

Instead of continuing with the perilous voyage through the Straits of Florida, 15 migrants decided to swim to Cuba.

The five Cubans – four men and a woman – remained aboard the dingy raft with the hope that the sea current would push them to the beach shores or ports of Miami.

Mexico’s National Institute of Migration revealed five migrants were able to draw the attention of a cruise liner Monday hours after their Miami-bound raft broke down in the sea. The group was rescued by the cruise ship, which was headed towards the tourist town of Cozumel. It docked Tuesday and the migrants were turned over to the Marines, who placed them in custody of the immigration agency for processing

The group spent several hours in an area between the Straits of Florida, the Bahamas and Gulf of Mexico when they located the cruise ship.

One of the migrants was able to grab the attention of the ocean liner’s crew by waving his t-shirt.

Crew staff aboard the cruise ship that was headed to the Mexican tourist town of Cozumel provided the migrants with a new set of clothing and food.

The migrants were turned over to Mexican Secretary of the Navy after the ship docked Tuesday.

They were eventually transferred over to a National Institute of Migration facility in the resort town of Playa del Carmen for processing.

Data released this week by the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid showed that the National Institute of Migration received 16,309 refugee petitions in January and February – at least 2,004 were submitted by Cuban migrants.

An agent with Mexico’s National Institute of Migration processes information provided by a Cuban man, one of five migrants who were rescued at sea by a cruise ship Monday after the group’s Miami-bound raft encountered issues with its motor

Data released this week by the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid showed that the National Institute of Migration received 16,309 refugee petitions in January and February – at least 2,004 were submitted by Cuban migrants. Pictured sitting on the couches are the five Cuban migrants who were rescued by a cruise ship after they were stranded in an area near the Straits of Florida, Bahamas and Gulf of Mexico

Of the 131,448 refugee applications that were registered throughout in all of 2021, 8,319 were filed by Cubans.

The spike in Cuban migrants fleeing the communist-run Caribbean island has been sparked by to the scarcity of basic goods, restrictions on civil liberties and the mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seen a spike in Cuban migrant encounters at sea and the southwestern land border region.

Data released by the Coast Guard on March 25 showed 1,053 Cubans were interdicted in waters since October 1, 2021, the start of fiscal year 2022.

The totals eclipse the sum for the previous two fiscal years when 838 encounters were reported in fiscal year 2021 and just 49 the previous 12-month period.

CBP’s recent monthly report showed that the number of Cuban migrants encountered for illegally crossing the United States-Mexico border increased dramatically in February, with U.S. Border Patrol agents reporting 16,531 interdictions.

The encounters were the highest monthly figure on record.

The interdiction totals have increased steadily since October 1, 2021, the beginning of fiscal year 2022.

There were 5,893 encounters with Cuban migrants reported in October followed by 6,606 in November. December closed out the year with 7,983, and 9,720 unlawful border crossing incidents were registered in January.