More than 200 Haitians landed in Cayo Coco

Havana, Dec 26 (RHC) A total of 253 Haitians, including 31 children and 61 women, who were traveling by boat in an attempt to migrate to the United States, landed at midnight Sunday at the port of Kasasa, in Cayo Coco, Jardines del Rey, to the north of Ciego de Avila, where they are being taken care off at an educational center in the province.

After the event, local authorities, headed by Tomás Alexis Martín Venegas and Ania Francisco Malde, governor and vice-governor, respectively, organized the temporary shelter at the Manuel Suárez Teachers Training School (Ceballos 7), where they are receiving medical attention and solidarity aid from Cuba.

María González Padrón, a specialist of the Cuban Red Cross, told Granma that from the first moment they received food and other supplies, while the contact was established with the highest Cuban authorities to ensure their organized, safe, and voluntary return to their country of origin.

Some witnesses involved in the expedition say that the bad weather forced them to land "somewhere in Cuba", where they admit they are receiving excellent attention, as has happened on previous occasions.

Last February, a group of 292 Haitian migrants arrived in the province of Ciego de Avila, also in central Cuba, when their boat drifted after passing the swirling strait of Paso de Los Vientos which connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Caribbean Sea. (Source: Granma).