MEXICO CITY.-Twelve Cuban rafters were rescued this week by the Norwegian Prima tourist cruise, in the waters of the Caribbean Sea, approximately 200 miles off the coast of Quintana Roo, in Mexico, reported TV Azteca.
The rescue took place in international waters, “evidencing the importance of collaboration and rapid response in emergency situations. The crew of the Norwegian Prima demonstrated their commitment to the safety and well-being of those who were adrift on fragile rafts,” specified the report of TV Aztecareviewed by Cuban newspaper.
The Cubans were transferred to the cruise ship dock in the port of Mahahual, where medical assistance from the staff of the Chetumal Naval Hospital was waiting for them.
At the same time, officials from the Ministry of Public Security of Mexico, through the State Police, “protected 57 people of foreign origin who were traveling irregularly in the country, during operations carried out in the towns of Orizaba, Cuitláhuac, Sayula of Alemán, Acayucan and Jesús Carranza,” reported the local media in Mexico The information network.
Law enforcement forces protected four Cubans on the Córdoba – Minatitlán de Cuitláhuac highway, in a group also composed of 15 Guatemalans, seven Hondurans, five Ecuadorians, three Nicaraguans and three Turks.
“The 57 migrants were channeled to the National Migration Institute (INM) to determine their situation in the country,” stated the La Red Informative note.
Another case of Cuban migrants in Mexico, who are in a vulnerable situation, was known this week through Televisa-Univisión journalist Javier Díaz.
In a video broadcast on social networks, Díaz reported that the three Cubans who remained kidnapped in Mexico were released. “They were released without their cell phones and almost none of their belongings,” he said.
Puerto Rico undertakes search after migrant shipwreck
Authorities were searching Thursday for missing migrants off Puerto Rico’s northwest coast after an overcrowded boat capsized, killing at least two people.
Puerto Rico police said their officers rescued 20 occupants of the boat that sank Wednesday near the coastal town of Quebradillas. Two of them were hospitalized for unspecified reasons.
It was not clear how many people were on the boat or where it sailed from, although the vast majority of migrants trying to reach Puerto Rico come from Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
The number of people trying to reach Puerto Rico from the Dominican Republic on flimsy rafts has increased, while the crisis due to gangs and poverty increases in Haiti.
It is dangerous to cross the so-called Mona Pass, a 148-kilometer (92-mile) strait from the island of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, and dozens of migrants have reportedly drowned there in recent years. Hispaniola is the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Source: EDITORIAL / With information from Diario de Cuba / AP
