The Coast Guard warns against boat trips from Florida to Cuba

The U.S. Coast Guard has expressed its support for those who exercise their “fundamental right to assembly and freedom of expression” on the streets of Cuba, warning those wishing not to travel from Florida to the island without authorization.

“Don’t go to sea,” Coast Guard Rear Admiral Eric Jones said in a statement to various media outlets Tuesday.

The rear admiral pointed out that “crossing is dangerous and unforgivable” and recalled that at least twenty lives had been lost in recent weeks as a result of the “dangerous” intersection of the Florida Strait separating Florida from Cuba.

In a statement last Saturday, the Coast Guard announced its decision to search for nine Cuban rafters missing in the wreckage of a boat traveling from Cuba to the United States. 192 hours not working.

On this occasion, Rear Admiral Jones warned against traveling in a different direction by people who want to approach or approach Cuba amid the popular protests that erupted in that country on Sunday.

“The Coast Guard, along with our local, state and federal partners, is monitoring any activity that could indicate an increase in unsafe and illegal immigration flow in the Florida Strait, including the illegal departure of boats from Florida to Cuba,” Jones said.

The news comes as a warning to the so-called “Plotillas” of Cuba and the increasing economic difficulties, the departure of “Rafters” from Covid-19 and The Island to the United States. Repression of protests.

A Florida Republican senator of Cuban descent recently warned of a crisis similar to that of Mariel, as large numbers of Cubans are known to have fled to the United States, which was allowed by Fidel Castro in the 1980s.

In his view, the Cuban government could try to alleviate the situation by opening the door to a mass exodus, making it clear that if US President Joseph Biden does so, it should be considered an “anti-government move” against this country.

Since October 1, the Coast Guard has detained 536 Cubans trying to reach the United States, while they did not reach 50 in fiscal year 2020, up from 313 in fiscal year 2019.

This “peaceful outflow” across the Straits of Florida and on the increasingly dangerous ships of the past year is not going to decrease, but rather it is going to grow, “said Ramon Saul Sanchez, the group’s leader.