Boat with 142 Haitian migrants in southern coast of Cuba is in distress

The official press reported that a boat with 141 Haitian migrants capsized off the southern coast of Cuba in the province of Cienfuegos while trying to reach the United States.

After eight days of sailing, the boat came ashore, and a state television report showed images of the health care they received.

“Of the 141 people traveling on the boat, over capacity and in precarious conditions, 22 are children, and there are pregnant women and elderly people,” said Nadiezka Carvajal, head of Red Cross operations in Cienfuegos (233 kilometers from Havana).

“The expedition had set sail for Miami, USA, but bad weather conditions brought them to the coast of South-Central Cuba,” one of the castaways assured the local newspaper.

This is the third time this year that groups of Haitians have landed on Cuban shores in their attempt to reach U.S. territory.

Last May, some 800 Haitian migrants, including a month-old baby, reached the northern coast of central Cuba and were later returned to their country of origin.

The closest point to the United States is 950 kilometers from Haiti.

According to official data, from 2001 to 2021, 76 boats with more than 4,000 irregular migrants arrived in Cuba’s eastern province of Guantanamo alone.