Authorities from the Dominican Republic returned to Cuba this Monday a group of 12 irregular migrants, in compliance with the agreements signed between both nations.
On board an aircraft that landed at José Martí International Airport in Havana, 10 men and two women were returned, most of them, residents of the province of Ciego de Ávila.
These 12 people were intercepted in two attempts to illegally leave the country by sea, according to a brief note published on the website of the Ministry of the Interior (MININT).
One of the members of the group was transferred to the investigative bodies for being involved in serious criminal acts, which were previously investigated according to said source.
So far in 2023, air and sea operations to return irregular migrants to Cuba from several neighboring nations have been frequent. Most of them come from the United States and Mexico.
At the end of January, it was revealed that the United States Coast Guard had intercepted more than 1,200 Cubans on the high seas and returned them.
When February began, and according to data from the MININT, 25 return operations had been carried out that included more than 2,000 Cuban irregular migrants.
However, some statistics point to a reduction in the month of January of up to 97% of Cubans who had arrived at the land border of the United States, since this country included the island’s nationals in a program to welcome 30,000 migrants per month.
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This program includes the nations of Venezuela, Haiti, and Nicaragua. These migrants must have a sponsor from the United States.
In parallel, it was announced that the authorities would expel to Mexico migrants who try to cross the border irregularly.
A total of 224,607 Cuban citizens arrived at the southern border of the United States in the fiscal year 2022 ― between October 1, 2021, and September 30, 2022 ―, according to the count of the Office of Customs and Border Protection of said nation, quoted by various media.
