OFFICIALS SAY IN 2021 1,255 MIGRANTS RETURNED TO HAVANA

Cuban authorities said on Wednesday that neighbouring countries had deported more than 1,200 migrants thus far in 2021, returning them to Havana in bilateral operations coordinated with the United States, Mexico, the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas. The Caribbean island nation has suffered this year from both the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and severe U.S. sanctions, reducing its hard currency earnings over the past two years by around 40 per cent and shrinking the economy 13 per cent. Illegal migration from Cuba, particularly through Mexico, has increased in 2021 over previous years, according to a report broadcast on Cuban TV. The report said that “to date 1,255 undocumented Cubans have been returned in 60 bilateral operations.” Of those, 856 were deported from the U.S.