HAVANA, July 22 (NNN-ACN) — A charter flight from the United States deported 33 irregular migrants to Cuba in what has been the fourth operation of its kind this year.
The group of individuals, which were brought to Havana’s Jose Marti international airport, included two women and 31 men. Twelve of the migrants had left the island illegally by sea; the rest left legally though they later joined irregular journeys on land towards the Mexican-US border.
The arrival of the latest 33 individuals takes the number of returned migrants from the United States to 260 this year. Just last Monday, the US Coast Guard Service returned 50 men and four women, who were intercepted on their way to the Florida keys.
Out of that latest group, two individuals were on conditional freedom in Cuba at the time the left the country; both will be submitted to corresponding courts to have their benefit revoked, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
So far, a total of 93 returns of illegal migrants has been carried out from several countries of the region either by air or by ship, which translates into 4 thousand 121 persons.
The Interior Ministry reiterated that Cuban authorities maintain their firm commitment to a regular, safe and orderly migration and warn about the danger implied by illegal departures by sea. — NNN-ACN
