Eight migrants arrived by boat at Spot Bay Cove in Cayman Brac on Monday night, 2 March, the Cayman Islands Customs and Border Control Service has confirmed.
The boat, carrying three female and five male migrants, arrived at the northeast coast of the island around 7pm.
“CBC officers, supported by partner agencies, responded in accordance with established operational and security protocols,” Customs and Border Control said in a statement Tuesday.
It added that the migrants had been “secured” and were being processed “in line with Cayman Islands law and international obligations”.
This is the latest arrival of migrants in Cayman as local authorities monitor the developing economic situation in Cuba that has led to concerns about an influx of Cubans into Cayman. Following the US incursion into Venezuela in early January and subsequent cessation of oil supplies from Venezuela to Cuba, the island’s economy has suffered.
Cubans who arrive in Cayman without going through regular immigration processes and who are detained here are usually repatriated to Cuba. The last repatriation exercise occurred on 13 Feb., when nine migrants were sent back to Cuba. So far this year, 13 Cubans have been repatriated.
As of 3 March, 30 Cuban migrants remained in Cayman, including the eight new arrivals, according to Customs and Border Control.
The last reported landing of migrants in Cayman, before Monday’s arrival, was on 16 Feb., when six Cuban men were rescued at sea and brought to Grand Cayman by a passing vessel.
In Tuesday’s statement, Minister for Home Affairs Nickolas DaCosta said the Cayman Islands government’s approach to irregular migration “continues to be grounded in three core principles: lawful border control, a humanitarian duty of care, and the safeguarding of national security”.
The statement urged members of the public with information related to irregular migration to contact 911.
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I pray they find a safe place to lay their head and make a home free from tyranny. I can’t imagine being the leader of Cuba and sleeping at night in a golden bed knowing your own people are suffering en masse for decades. How can the Cuban leader, or any president, claim to love their land while letting their own people born on it, suffer the most. The land and the people are one. But this is socialism: money for the few at the top of government, everyone else gives all their wealth to them. Capitalism is the only way every human has the opportunity to make something big of themselves. I’ll never understand the socialism form of governance bc just like things to be fair. Growing up in Miami, Cubans are part of our ecosystem. Everyone is grateful for their contributions to South Florida. They came, they are doing great things and are enjoying life. They can keep 85% of their paycheck too! They care for Miami. It’s really so simple what any human being wants. Cubans escaping Cuba, any country would be grateful for their contribution.