Boat carrying Cuban migrants capsizes off Brac coast

(CNS): A vessel carrying four Cuban men capsized off the coast of Cayman Brac at around 8:30am Thursday morning, officials have confirmed. One man swam ashore, but it’s not clear if the other three men were rescued or made it to safety under their own steam. Border control officials said the migrants did not require medical attention and were being processed this evening in accordance with existing protocols. Parts of the vessel had washed ashore.

The latest arrival of migrants came just nine days after Customs and Border Control held a Multi-Agency Mass Migration Committee meeting to discuss concerns over the recent developments in the Republic of Cuba and other regional countries.

Cuba is currently suffering from severe economic challenges and has been experiencing rolling and extending power outages over the last few weeks amidst an energy crisis.

The meeting, chaired by CBC Director Bruce Smith on Tuesday, 22 October, was a proactive measure to discuss plans to mitigate and manage the mass arrivals of irregular migrants.