June 14-15, U.S. Coast Guard vessels docked in Orozco Bay, municipality of Bahia Honda, Artemisa province, returning to Cuban authorities 59 citizens who were involved in four illegal maritime departures from the island, and had been detained.
The irregular migrant departures took place along the northern coast of the provinces of Matanzas, Mayabeque, Ciego de Avila and Artemisa, aboard crafts without elementary means of navigation or life-saving equipment.
According to the Cuban Ministry of the Interior’s website (Minit), after complying with sanitary guidelines for such cases, the individuals were transferred to an identification and immigration center to complete the hygiene and epidemiology procedures established by the Ministry of Public Health, which require all persons entering the country to be administered a PCR test and remain in an isolation center for the period stipulated.
As the Ministry has stated on previous occasions, the Cuban government insists on the need for strict compliance with the Cuba-U.S. Joint Declaration on Migratory Issues, signed January 12, 2017, establishing a bilateral commitment to prevent and discourage irregular migration and undocumented departures from Cuba that endanger human life, as well as acts of violence and other illegalities related to migration, and promote effective bilateral cooperation to prevent and prosecute human trafficking and associated crimes.
Cuba, as established in this agreement, reiterates and defends regular, safe and orderly migration.
