by Juan Castro Olivera Sun Dec 2, 7:27 PM ET
MIAMI (AFP) - Cubans fleeing their communist run-island in search of the
American dream are increasingly doing so aboard pleasure craft and
go-fast boats, many of them stolen in Florida for use in the migrant
smuggling trade.
Long gone are the days when most of the Cubans migrants would use inner
tubes and flimsy rafts to illegally cross the shark-infested Florida
Straits.
Located just 150 kilometers (90 miles) from Cuba, the southeastern state
of Florida is the destination of choice for the migrants. It also has
the highest number of boat thefts in the United States.
"South Florida is the hotspot," says John Humphreys, of the state Fish
and Wildlife Commission's investigations department.
This year, more than 1,200 boats were stolen in Florida, up 30 percent
from last year, according to the FWC.
Most of the stolen yachts and go-fast boats are used in the lucrative
business of smuggling in Cuban migrants, according to several US
government agencies.
"They bring people in stolen boats, and in many cases in go-fast boats,"
says Luis Diaz, of the US Coast Guard in Miami. These days, he says, "no
one arrives in makeshift rafts."
In a typical case that occurred two weeks ago, 32 Cuban migrants swam
ashore in Palm Beach after jumping off a stolen yacht that dropped them
offshore in the dark of the night.
Under legislation known as "dry-foot, wet-foot," Cubans who make it
ashore are generally allowed to stay in the United States, but get sent
back if they are caught at sea.
In the past, it was fairly easy to identify the precarious vessels that
carried Cuban migrants, but the stolen boats look like any other
pleasure crafts out for a day of fun on the water.
In the old days, some migrant smugglers did use their own boats to carry
their human load from Cuba, but that too is a thing of the past, says
Zachary Mann of the US Customs and Border Protection.
"They don't want to lose 200,000 dollars if they are caught," Mann says
in reference to the average value of the boats.
The most popular with the thieves are small to mid-sized boats that are
easy to maneuver, and particularly the go-fast boats.
Officials lament that boat owners are not doing enough to protect their
property.
"People do not invest in their boat's security as they do with their
cars or properties," says Christopher O'Neil of the US Coast Guard.
Often, thieves find the boats stored on trailers, ready to be hooked up
to a car and driven off.
Numerous boats are also stolen from the marinas that dot southeastern
Florida's Atlantic coastline.
"Many people leave the keys in the yacht. They simply forget them, or
don't think anyone would steal a boat," says Ivan Senaf, an employee at
a marina in Fort Lauderdale, north of Miami.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071203/ts_alt_afp/uscubamigrationtheftyachts_071203002155
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