A total of 19 Cubans landed on Cayman Brac on Thursday, the Customs and Border Control Service has confirmed.
The Cubans, who arrived in two different vessels, disembarked and were processed in accordance with CBC’s established protocols, according to a statement issued Thursday afternoon.
As at 13 May, the total number of Cubans on island in CBC care stood at 173.
In the month of April, 70 arrived in the Cayman Islands, according figures shared with the Cayman Compass.
These latest arrivals come in the wake of the activation of Cayman’s mass migration contingency plan which will see the use of local civic centres to temporarily house Cubans. It follows confirmation by CBC Director Charles Clifford that the Detention Centre has reached capacity.
The Elliott Conolly Civic Centre in Gun Bay, East End, is already in use as part of the plan and housing 37 Cubans.
A CBC spokesperson, following Compass queries, said on Friday, the Cubans at the Gun Bay Civic Centre “have been restricted in line with current restrictions placed on other migrants released into the community, i.e. they are required to report to the CBC Migration Management Office on Elgin Avenue at specific intervals”.
On Thursday, six men and one woman arrived on a vessel around 10:45am in Cayman Brac. Following that landing, another vessel was spotted around 3:45pm with another 12 Cubans on board – nine men and three women.
These 19 Cubans are now under CBC care.
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