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US Coast Guard sends 119 migrants to Cuba Migration News

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Cubans who wanted to reach the U.S. by sea were arrested for three days in 12 separate operations, the Coast Guard said.

The U.S. Coast Guard has said it has returned 119 Cuban migrants back to its country in three days in a dozen operations as more and more Cubans try to reach the U.S. by water.

In one statement released late Tuesday, the Coast Guard said the migrants were taken from the Bahamas to the Florida Keys in the South Florida Strait after the boats were found drifting off the coast.

“In each case, the Coast Guard helped secure the U.S. border and prevented these dangerous sea voyages from ending in tragedy,” he said.

The Cuban state media reported that the repatriation on Tuesday was the largest in four years.

Images from the docks on the north coast of Cuba show white-clad disguised health workers picking up migrants, who were handed over by U.S. authorities by boat.

Development takes place at a time when the Cuban economy is booming US sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted vital international tourism to the Caribbean island.

In recent decades, dangerous crossings between Cuba and the United States — often with fast ocean currents, relentless sun and wind, and bad ships — have complicated the lives of many Cubans.

Coast Guard data show that 586 Cuban migrants attempted to land in the U.S. in the first three months of the 2022 fiscal year alone – a significant increase since 2021, when the Coast Guard deported a total of 838 Cubans.

The number of Cubans reaching the U.S.-Mexico border was also the highest in a decade between October 2020 and May 2021, according to U.S. immigration statistics, as many Cubans resort to land routes to try to enter the U.S.

On July 11, rare protests erupted on the streets of Cuba due to a shortage of food and medicine, as well as other demands. [File: Marco Bello/Reuters]

The Cuban government says it is in favor of legal, orderly and safe migration.

Has Blame the US due to the rise in migration, the country’s policies, including the Cold War embargoes, encourage Cubans to risk their lives and leave the island.

In July, Cubans took to the streets to protest against rising prices, food and drug shortages, and other socioeconomic problems that have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In November, another round of opposition demonstrations was organized turn on among the laws that protests banned, a large police presence on the streets, and the arrest of several members of the opposition.

U.S. Secretary of State Alejandro Mayorkas said last year that Cubans leaving the island after unprecedented protests “will not come to the United States.”



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