Thu Apr 10, 2008 4:41pm EDT
By Rosa Tania Valdes
HAVANA (Reuters) - The number of Cubans risking their lives to leave
their communist-run country illegally by sea to reach the United States
is rising, U.S. officials in Havana said on Thursday.
Since October 1, 2007, 2,891 Cubans have tried to cross the Florida
Straits; 1,697 made it to the United States and were allowed to stay
while the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted 1,194 and sent them back.
The U.S. officials said the figures showed that average Cubans had
little faith that life would improve in the one-party socialist state
under President Raul Castro, who succeeded his ailing brother Fidel
Castro in February.
"The numbers continue to rise. That's the response of the Cuban people,"
U.S. Interests Section chief Michael Parmly told foreign reporters. "So
many of them are young people. Why do they want to leave?"
The number of people attempting the risky voyage has risen by 21 percent
compared to the same period last year. The number intercepted by the
Coast Guard increased by 65 percent.
Most Cubans now attempt the crossing in fast speed boats rather than the
makeshift vessels seen in the past.
Cuba has long accused Washington of encouraging Cubans to risk their
lives at sea by offering the prize of almost automatic residency to
those who make it ashore.
U.S. officials say Cuba's lack of political freedom and economic
stagnation drives its people to leave.
Even more Cubans try to reach the United States through Mexico. Last
year, 11,486 undocumented Cubans arrived at U.S. Southwest Customs and
Border Patrol land ports. So far this fiscal year, which began on
October 1, some 5,500 have done so.
To avoid a repeat of the 1994 mass exodus, when 35,000 Cubans headed out
to sea on fishing boats, rafts and inner tubes, the U.S and Cuban
governments signed migration accords under which the United States
grants 20,000 visas a year to Cubans to ensure legal, orderly and safe
emigration.
Illegal Cuban migration to the United States began to surge again in
2005. When Fidel Castro fell ill the next year, the flow dipped, due in
part to increased security in Cuba and expectations of change.
To speed up legal migration, the United States inaugurated a Cuban
family reunification program on Thursday that will cut delays in
processing eligible emigres to 6 weeks from between 3 and 7 years at
present.
Three families with relatives in the United States were the first to
receive their travel documents in the program that could benefit 12,000
pending cases, involving an estimated 40,000 family members.
After dragging its feet for two years, Cuba's government this month
authorized the U.S. Interest Section to hire more consular staff, which
will speed up visa processing.
(Editing by Alan Elsner)
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