Another twelve people are still missing after the precarious boat in which they were traveling sank, and the border guards saved another eleven
At least five people have dead and another twelve remain missing after the sinking of a precarious boat around Cayo Cruz del Padre (northern Cuba) when headed to the United States, as reported this Friday by official media. Local official Yumuri TV said the eleven other occupants of the boat were rescued alive by the Cuban border guard services.
The event occurred this Tuesday morning due to strong waves, according to this medium and in line with the unverified information that had previously been disseminated on social networks. The occupants of the boat then called the emergency services, which sent two patrols of the border guard troops. The authorities reported that the rescue work continues in the area where the shipwreck occurred despite the adverse weather conditions in the area due to the arrival of a cold front.
“All those involved in the incident reside in Cárdenas and left the country illegally on January 23 through Torrontela, a point on the Cárdenas coast, with the purpose of reaching United States territory, exposing themselves to a risky journey,” picked up Yumuri TV.
Hundreds of Cubans have thrown into the sea in recent days to try to reach the US within the framework of one of the largest waves of migration in decades. So far this month some 1,200 Cubans have been deported.
At the beginning of January, the US Government announced a radical change in its immigration policy for Cubans, after in 2022 more than 313,000 citizens of that country arrived at its southern border. Political repression, but above all the severe economic crisis that the island has suffered for more than two years -with shortages and high inflation- are leading many Cubans to leave their country.