Radio Martí news: Migrants land by Keys broadcasting tower promoting Cuban democracy

Washington maintains a waterfront radio tower in the Florida Keys to broadcast programming aimed at encouraging democracy and press freedom in Cuba, and on Sunday that area in Marathon was the landing spot for a group of migrants fleeing the island.

A boat of 25 migrants arrived on the shores of Sister Creek, home to a Radio Martí transmission station on Sunday morning, said Adam Hoffner, assistant chief patrol agent for U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Miami operations. The landing was one of two known migrant arrivals in the Keys on Sunday, with another 28 Cubans arriving on private property in Key Largo.

While the government-run broadcasting agency targets Cuban listeners with Spanish programming, Radio Martí reports typically discourage the kind of voyage that reportedly landed some Cubans on or near Martí property, said Tomás Regalado, the former Miami mayor who also recently ran the agency that oversees Radio and TV Martí.

“Historically, the migrant situation was something that was treated as news,” Regalado said. “But with the caveat that it’s a very dangerous trip and not recommended.”

Regalado, who served as head of the federal government’s Office of Cuba Broadcasting from 2018 to 2019, said he’s not aware of any history of Cuban migrants arriving on the Martí site. The facility east of the Seven Mile Bridge and north of Sombrero Beach is surrounded by fencing and inaccessible to the public, but could be suitable for a random landing from the ocean given its proximity to open waters

Regalado said Sunday’s landing on the Martí site would be a notable venue for Cubans fleeing the island’s government.

“It’s ironic,” he said. “Maybe some of them were listeners, who knows.”

This story was originally published January 8, 2023 at 5:45 PM.