EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 29 June 2023 — On Friday, Cuba received a total of 58 nationals deported by the United States Coast Guard (USCG), for a total of 4,183 returns from different countries so far in 2023.
The deported Cubans – 49 men and nine women – participated in “three illegal exits from the country and were intercepted at sea,” according to a statement from the Ministry of the Interior. The deported Cubans were received by the island’s authorities in the port of Orozco (Bahía Honda, western province of Artemisa).
Two of the returned citizens were on probation serving criminal sanctions at the time of leaving the country and will be put before the corresponding courts for the revocation of that benefit.
Cuba and the US have a bilateral agreement so that all migrants who arrive by sea are returned to the island.
As of last November those arriving by air are also subject to return. Both countries agreed to resume deportation flights for “inadmissible” people held at the border with Mexico.
Returns by air between Cuba and the US had been suspended since December 2020.
During the current fiscal year, which began on 1 October 2022, more than 6,800 Cubans have been intercepted by the USCG on trips to the Florida coast.
The United States government announced this Friday that it will accept asylum requests from nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who are already in Mexico waiting to cross into US territory, in an attempt to clear the border on the Mexican side.
To apply for asylum in the United States, a person must show that they face persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a specific social or ethnic group.
Another program created by the administration of Democrat Joe Biden allows nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to apply for an immigration permit to enter the United States, but it only applies to those who arrive in the United States by plane and who have a sponsor who can prove they qualify, and who will help them in their adaptation to the country.
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