New figures released this week by the U.S. Border Patrol indicate that
the number of Cuban migrants landing in South Florida continues to
increase. (The photo by Miami Herald photographer Tim Chapman shows a
group of Cuban migrants in the Florida Keys in February). It's not a
mass exodus, but it's a steady stream of migrants that has been growing
since Fidel Castro took ill and ceded power to his younger brother Raul
in July 2006. Between Oct. 1, 2007 and this past Monday, at least 2,568
Cuban migrants have landed in South Florida – about 945 more than the
number of Cuban migrants stopped at sea in the Florida Straits between
Oct. 1, 2007 and June 30. An even larger number of Cuban migrants has
arrived through the Mexican border – almost 6,000 between Oct. 1, 2007
and April 15.The Mexican route has become the most popular since U.S.
authorities began a crackdown against Cuban migrant smugglers in the
Florida Straits over the last year. On May 6, for example, federal
prosecutors in Miami disclosed a dozen indictments charging 23 men with
attempting to smuggle Cuban migrants by boat into South Florida.
It is unclear if the crackdown has diminished the number of Cuban
migrants headed for South Florida.
Interdictions of Cuban migrants in the Florida Straits during June
dropped dramatically compared to prior months. Between January and May,
between 100-200 Cuban migrants were interdicted at sea every month – but
in June only 46 were stopped, according to Coast Guard figures.
Border Patrol figures show that Cuban migrants are still getting
through, given the 2,568 reported to have landed in South Florida
between October and mid-July.
-- Alfonso Chardy
July 18, 2008
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/cuban_colada/2008/07/cuban-migrants.html
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