Officials are informed by four survivors that they departed the island nation on April 1 with the intention of traveling to the US state of Florida. However, their raft’s rudder broke, leaving them adrift, and numerous more perished at sea.
More than a month after leaving Cuba on a makeshift raft alongside several others who perished at sea, four malnourished and dehydrated migrants were recovered by Mexican fishermen, according to officials.
In the northeastern Mexican state of Tamaulipas, two of the survivors were still in the hospital on Tuesday because of “severe dehydration,” according to immigration authorities.
Testimonies supplied to Mexican authorities and a diplomat from Cuba who wished to remain anonymous indicate that the migrants had departed the island on April 1 with the intention of traveling to the US state of Florida.
However, the raft’s rudder snapped, leaving them adrift.
According to a local police assessment, it’s possible that the migrants were at sea for up to two months.
One of the survivors was quoted as saying that they departed Cuba on March 5.
financial crisis
Photographs released by regional media featured the four undernourished guys, two of whom were on the ground, together with a raft constructed out of plastic sheeting, metal cans, and scraps of wood that served as a sail.
They were discovered by fisherman traveling to their place of employment in the Gulf of Mexico; they were taken to a hospital and given first aid by Mexican emergency services.
The survivors claim that four other migrants perished during the trek, but Mexican authorities have not been able to confirm that information.
The survivors are identified in the police report as Rogelio Loasis Fuentes Fernando, 50, Yuriesky Romero Hernandez, 33, and Mario Sergio Marquez Ventura, 30.
The fourth migrant’s poor condition prevented him from giving his name.
They have indicated that they would like to remain in Mexico, according to immigration officials.
The largest wave of emigration since Fidel Castro’s revolution has occurred in the last two years, with about five percent of Cubans fleeing to the United States.
The communist island is experiencing its greatest economic crisis in decades, made worse by US sanctions, skyrocketing inflation, and shortages of essentials like fuel, medication, and food.
SOURCE: TRTWORLD
