121 Cuban migrants caught in Florida Straits returned home

Author: the associated press
Published:
MGN

MIAMI (AP) – Over 100 Cuban migrants have been returned home by U.S. authorities within the past week.

U.S. Coast Guard officials say the 121 migrants returned to Bahia de Cabanas, Cuba, were picked up in nine separate interdictions in the south Florida Straits. Authorities say their boats were rustic and unseaworthy.

Capt. Mark Fedor, chief of response for the Coast Guard’s 7th District, says U.S. immigration policies have not changed despite the restoration of diplomatic relations between Havana and Washington.

Fedor says the Coast Guard will continue to aggressively patrol the Florida Straits and discourage anyone from attempting risky sea journeys to the U.S.

Since the fiscal year began Oct. 1, U.S. authorities estimate over 4,300 Cubans have been caught or intercepted in the Florida Straits, the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean.

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