At least five people died and twelve others are missing after the sinking of a fragile boat in the vicinity of Cayo Cruz del Padre, north of Cuba, when the United States was heading, according to official media.
The local official television station Yumuri TV indicated that the other eleven occupants of the boat were rescued alive by the Cuban border guard services.
The event occurred this Tuesday morning due to strong waves, according to this medium and in line with the unverified information that had previously been disseminated on social networks.
The occupants of the boat then called the emergency services, which sent two patrols of the border guard troops.
The authorities reported that the rescue work continues in the area where the shipwreck occurred despite the adverse weather conditions in the area due to the arrival of a cold front.
“All those involved in the incident reside in Cárdenas and left the country illegally on January 23 through Torrontela, a point on the Cárdenas coast, with the purpose of reaching United States territory, exposing themselves to a risky journey,” picked up Yumuri TV.
Hundreds of Cubans have thrown into the sea in recent days to try to reach the United States in the context of one of the largest waves of migration in decades. So far this month some 1,200 Cubans have been deported.
At the beginning of January, the United States Government announced a radical change in its immigration policy for Cubans, after in 2022 more than 313,000 citizens of that country arrived at its southern border.
Political repression, but above all the severe economic crisis that the island has suffered for more than two years -with shortages and high inflation- are leading many Cubans to leave their country.
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