Cuban migrants intercepted off Dania
Coast Guard to return 13 men to their homeland
A small sailboat carrying a group of Cuban migrants was intercepted in the ocean Wednesday, about a mile offshore from the Dania Beach pier, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
Two boats from Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue also met government authorities that included Customs and Border Protection.
There were 13 men aboard the vessel the Coast Guard called “rustic,” but they did not require medical attention from Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, Battalion Chief Greg May said.
At 9:40 a.m., the Coast Guard met the boat that had already been interdicted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection vessels from air and marine operations, the Coast Guard said.
“The group will not be brought to shore, but will be transferred to a Coast Guard cutter that will bring them home,” Chief Petty Officer Crystal Kneen.
Previously, Cubans who traveled to the U.S. were allowed to stay in the country under an immigration policy known as “wet foot/dry foot.”
Those who touched land could apply for permanent residency in the U.S. while migrants found at sea were not allowed to remain in the country. The policy was abolished on Jan. 12, and as diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba returned to normalcy, Cuba accepted repatriation of its citizens, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“Any migrant interdicted at sea, regardless of their nationality, will likely be repatriated back to their country of origin,” Coast Guard spokeswoman Marilyn Fajardo said.
Aerial video broadcast by WPLG-Ch. 10 showed the men, wearing orange life vests, in a small, blue boat with a brown sail as it was surrounded by government vessels.