Migrant boat carrying 24 Cubans arrives in Florida Keys, Border Patrol says
A makeshift migrant boat carrying 24 people from Cuba arrived in the Middle Florida Keys Monday night, according to the U.S. Border Patrol.
The vessel made landfall around 7 p.m. on the shores of Duck Key, said Adam Hoffner, assistant chief patrol agent for the U.S. Border Patrol’s Miami sector.
Hoffner told the Herald there were 21 men and three women on board. They are in Border Patrol custody, being processed for removal back to Cuba, Hoffner said Tuesday.
The landing happened days after Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered hundreds more state police officers to South Florida and the Keys in anticipation of a possible maritime arrival of large groups of people fleeing increased gang violence and instability in Haiti.
So far, that exodus has yet to materialize.
But, the migrants’ arrival Tuesday also occurred in the midst of growing street protests within Cuba demonstrating against the communist government’s response to food and electricity shortages.
This story was originally published March 19, 2024 at 2:31 PM.
