Two of the irregular migrants were transferred “to the investigative body for being suspected of committing criminal acts before leaving Cuba,” the authorities said.
EFE/14ymedio, 9 January 2025 — The United States Coast Guard Service (USCG) deported a total of 20 migrants to Cuba on Thursday, in the first return operation to the Island from the US in 2025, official media reported.
The group – composed of 9 men, 7 women and 4 children – was intercepted by the US coast guard after illegally leaving the Island. Most live in Havana, according to the Cuban Ministry of the Interior.
The migrants were handed over by the US coast guard at the port of Orozco, in the province of Artemisa
Two of them were transferred “to the investigative body for alleged criminal acts before leaving Cuba,” the authorities said.
In addition, the Ministry of the Interior stated that this is the second return operation of 2025, after the one reported on January 3, when 19 Cubans were returned from the Bahamas by air, making a total of 39 returned so far this year.
The migrants were handed over by the US Coast Guard in the port of Orozco
The Cuban authorities have stated that they maintain “firm” in their commitment to a “safe and orderly” migration, and they continue to warn of the danger and risks of illegal exits from the country, stressing that it is “irresponsible” to involve minors in those events.
The Governments of Havana and Washington have a bilateral agreement so that all migrants arriving by sea to US territory are returned to Cuba.
In addition, deportation flights resumed in April 2023, mainly for people considered “inadmissible” after being detained on the US border with Mexico.
In Mexico, eight Cuban rafters who were rescued last week by sailors are at the headquarters of the National Institute of Migration (INM), where they have requested advice to prevent them from being deported to the Island. The migrants, a woman and seven men, were found by the crew of the ship Catherine-Grace on a drifting raft 198 nautical miles north of Puerto Progreso.
A total of 8,261 Cubans were registered by US border authorities last October
According to data from the US Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP), during the 2024 fiscal period, which ended on September 30, 217,615 Cubans arrived in the United States.
A total of 8,261 Cubans were registered by US border authorities last October, the first month of fiscal year 2025, and according to CBP, more than 860,000 Cuban migrants entered US territory in the last four years.
In 2024, 93 returns were made from different countries in the region, with a total of 1,384 irregular migrants returned.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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