Cuban migrant found in Styrofoam boat still with Coast Guard
BY ALFONSO CHARDY
achardy@ElNuevoHerald.com
A Cuban migrant who ostensibly floated at sea in the Florida Straits for
25 days aboard a seven-foot makeshift Styrofoam boat remained aboard a
U.S. Coast Guard vessel Wednesday morning as American officials weighed
whether to return him to Cuba or let him come ashore for hospital care.
Marilyn Fajardo, a Coast Guard spokeswoman in Miami, said her agency
cannot provide any details on the migrant until a decision is made. But
she noted that, in general, any migrants rescued at sea are given
medical attention, food, water and clothing after they arrive on a cutter.
The case has drawn worldwide attention because of the circumstances and
questions surrounding the voyage from Cuba and how the man managed to
survive -- perhaps without enough or any food and water for more than
three weeks.
Yanik Fenton, a spokeswoman for Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., said
her office constantly receives calls from family members in South
Florida and other parts of the country who are awaiting arrivals from
Cuba, but that in this case no one has called to claim the Styrofoam
boat migrant.
Juan A. Muñoz Torres, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, provided a few more details on the migrant, indicating that,
despite having been on the boat exposed to the elements, he did not
appear to be in critical condition.
``Apparently, he did not require hospitalization,'' Muñoz said Wednesday
by telephone from his office in Washington. ``He was dehydrated, but he
was provided with an IV by personnel on the cutter.''
If the migrant does not need emergency hospital care, then it's possible
he might be sent back to Cuba.
In general, under the wet-foot/dry-foot policy Cuban migrants
intercepted at sea are sent back to Cuba -- unless they require
emergency hospital care on land or potentially qualify for resettlement
in a third country.
If a migrant requires hospital care, he or she is taken ashore and
allowed to stay. After a year, the person can apply for a green card,
like all Cuban migrants who reach U.S. soil.
The case of the Stryfoam boat migrant unfolded when a U.S. Customs and
Border Protection surveillance aircraft patrolling the Florida Straits
spotted the makeshift boat some 51 miles south of Marathon.
On closer inspection, the plane crew discovered a man aboard the
Styrofoam boat.
A Customs press statement on the case said the migrant ``apparently had
floated in the Caribbean Sea for 25 days.'' But the press release also
quoted the migrant as saying, after being rescued, that he had left from
the Havana area on June 20.
Muñoz said the migrant was spotted sometime between Monday and Tuesday,
which would make it either 23 or 24 days at sea.
``While conducting routine border security patrol, the crew of a CBP
surveillance aircraft detected a small vessel approximately 51 miles
south of Marathon, Fla.,'' the CBP statement said. ``Upon close
examination of the vessel, it was determined that there was one
individual aboard and that it appeared to be custom built out of
Styrofoam, approximately seven feet long.''
CBP summoned the U.S. Coast Guard to rescue the migrant. The
surveillance aircraft then orbited overhead for about 3 ½ hours,
directing the Coast Guard to the vessel.
``Once the Coast Guard vessel arrived on scene, they transferred the
castaway to their ship,'' the Customs statement said. ``The man was
severely dehydrated and said he left the Havana, Cuba, area on June 20.''
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/14/1730082/cuban-migrant-found-in-styrofoam.html
No comments:
Post a Comment