Mexico tightens security for Cuba migrants

Tuesday, March 7, 2006 · Last updated 5:37 p.m. PT

Mexico tightens security for Cuba migrants

By MARK STEVENSON
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

MEXICO CITY -- The Mexican government said Tuesday it was stepping up
security at detention centers for illegal Cuban migrants after a group
of detainees fought police officers and held a guard against his will -
the seventh uprising or mass escape by Cubans in a year.

Officials also will deny political asylum to those involved in the
latest conflict.

"After these acts, changes will certainly have to be reviewed to
increase the level of security" at immigration holding centers like the
one in Mexico City where a dozen Cubans rioted and briefly took over the
facilities Monday, presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar said.

The riots are fueled in part by the fact that most Cubans are forced to
wait for months inside decrepit Mexican detention centers. The Cuban
government often delays recognizing them as a means of punishment for
their attempt to leave the island, Mexican officials say.

The Cubans involved in Monday's uprising were demanding they not be
returned to the island, saying they feared reprisals there. Eight Cubans
were injured in the scuffle, though their injuries were not
life-threatening, the government said in a news release.

All seven major incidents at Mexican immigration detention centers in
the past year involved Cubans - including riots, and a mass escape in July.

Yet the estimated 500 Cubans detained each year make up a tiny fraction
of the approximately 250,000 undocumented foreigners detained in Mexico
annually.

Most of the detainees are Central Americans, and they are usually
released to their home countries in two days or less. But officials say
Cuba takes much longer to react.

The Cuban embassy in Mexico did not immediately respond to requests for
comment on the issue.

Karina Arias, coordinator for the migrant rights group Sin Fronteras,
said that slow consular responses were a factor in keeping Cubans - and
a few other nationalities - in detention centers for long periods.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1102AP_Mexico_Cuba_Melee.html