14ymedio, Havana, May 5, 2024 — Cubans Mario Sergio Márquez Ventura, 30 years old, Rogelio Loases Fuentes (50), Yuriesky Romero Hernández (33) and Diosan (26) were rescued this Saturday by fishermen from Laguna Madre, Mexico. The rafters left the Island on April 1, but on the crossing the rudder of the raft on which they intended to reach Florida broke, and they were adrift for more than 30 days.
According to those rescued, four other Cubans died on the way, and their bodies were thrown into the sea. The shipwrecked men, located at the point known as Barra Boca de Catán, were dehydrated and very thin. The rafters told their rescuers that their boat was rammed by strong gusts of wind and waves of up to 17 feet.
One of the Cuban rafters rescued by fishermen at the point known as Barra Boca de Catán / Tamaulipas Civil Protection
The Mexicans transferred the rafters to the island known as Punta de Piedra, where they were treated by members of Tamaulipas Civil Protection and transferred to the San Fernando General Hospital. Their state of health is reported as stable, and the medical report has yet to be released.
The rescue was informed to the National Institute of Migration, which will take care of the migrants after being medically discharged. Meanwhile, the Cuban Embassy in Mexico has not offered any comments on the rescue.
On April 26, Migración received 28 rafters from the Island rescued 20 miles from Cuba by the Paradise Carnival crew. These Cubans were escorted by sailors to the immigration headquarters of Playa del Carmen. So far, no information has been offered about their condition.
Mexico continues to deport Cubans, despite the fact that last October it announced that the process of “assisted calls” – as they call the expulsions – was paused until further notice. Last January, nine people from the Island were returned on a commercial flight. Last year, the departure of 774 migrants was completed.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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