14ymedio/EFE, Havana, December 31, 2023 — A few hours before the end of 2023, the Ministry of the Interior reported that, in the last 12 months, 5,253 Cubans have been deported by air and sea from different countries in the region. Last Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard returned nine rafters to Cuba on the ship Charles David Jr.
Among these deportations are those carried out by the United States. The most recent transfer flight to José Martí International Airport was last Thursday, with 31 Cubans who were arrested at the border.
According to Prensa Latina, in this group, made up of two women and 29 men, there were three people who had left the country illegally by sea. The rest, it reported, did so legally but “then took irregular routes to the U.S. border.”
Under the bilateral agreement between Cuba and the United States to return to the Island those who arrive by sea, eight transfers occurred to repatriate 426 Cubans since last April, when air expulsions resumed.
This year, Cuba has also received repatriated migrants from the Bahamas, Belize, the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic and Mexico
The first flight with this type of deportees arrived in Havana on April 24, with 123 people. On the last day of November, 37 Cubans were deported. Yoan Enríquez, who had a probation form I-220B, was one of the passengers who had to leave his wife and a three-month-old baby in Florida.
During the current fiscal year, which began on October 1, 2022, more than 6,800 Cubans have been intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard on trips to Florida, according to official data.
This year, Cuba has also received migrants repatriated from the Bahamas, Belize, the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic and Mexico.
According to what was revealed to this newspaper, Cuba accepted the returns of its nationals from the month of October from Mexico, as long as the transfer expenses were covered by the Government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador. “A cost of 4,000 pesos (237 dollars) is handled for each migrant,” said lawyer José Luis Pérez.
Since Mexico resumed flights to Havana, it used the services of the airline Viva Aerobús. In total, it has transferred 435 Cubans in five connections. “Migration has a budget item for deportations. It’s not a new expense,” the official said.
Mexico also has a bilateral agreement with Venezuela for the deportation of migrants. This Sunday, a group of 122 migrants was returned to Venezuelan territory on the second repatriation flight, for a total of 329 people if you add the 207 who arrived in the early hours of this Saturday.
Since Mexico resumed flights to Havana, it used the services of the Viva Aerobús airline. In total, it has transferred 435 Cubans in five connections
The flight was carried out through the Vuelta a la Patria (Return to the Homeland) plan, a government program launched in 2018 to facilitate the return of migrants who were victims of xenophobia, according to the Venezuelan Government.
On X (formerly Twitter), the Ministry of the Interior, Justice and Peace pointed out that the migrants were received by a “comprehensive care command” in charge of verifying their data and providing medical assistance.
The Mexican government reported this Saturday the renewal of the repatriation flights of Venezuelans who are arrested on their way to the U.S. border.
It also indicated that they are working on the implementation of social programs in Venezuela, which will benefit, among others, repatriated people by linking them to productive projects and paid internships in workplaces.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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