CUBAN MIGRANTS FIGHT COAST GUARD TO REACH FLORIDA

In a single month, the role of the US Coast Guard in preventing Cuban migrants from reaching US soil has been cast in a dramatic light.

At the end of June, as six Cubans attempted to sneak into the US on the coast near Miami Beach, television cameras were there, and what they revealed has shocked many. The six men were aboard a raft nearing the shore when Coast Guard and local police vessels surrounded it, and turned a fire hose onto the passengers. The Coast Guard also used pepper spray to attempt to keep the men from reaching shore. When this happened, the rafters jumped into the ocean, attempting to swim to shore, only to have the Coast Guard block them. Two of the men made it to shore, the other four gave themselves up.

This kind of action is not entirely uncommon, but this is one of the first times it was witnessed by the public via a television broadcast. Protesters congested many roads in the Miami area in the following days, demanding equal treatment for all six men. Ordinarily, only the two who made it to the shore would be allowed to stay, and those apprehended at sea would have been repatriated to Cuba. However, all six of the men were taken to Krome Detention Center and released shortly afterward.

The Coast Guard has not yet formally admitted its actions were improper, but without commenting on this incident, officials have said that force should only be used to protect Coast Guard members from physical harm. An investigation into the incident is already ongoing. Last year there were investigations into 50 incidents involving the use of excessive force by the Coast Guard.

Border Patrol investigators say the men had probably not come from Cuba, but were dropped off by smugglers. The reasons for the suspicion were inconsistencies in the men’s stories, and their physical condition, too healthy to have made the journey across the Florida Straits.

The US Justice Department has ordered an investigation into another incident involving these Cubans. Apparently, while they were being detained, they were forced to pose for a picture while holding a picture of Fidel Castro. Attorney General Janet Reno, who had already criticized the Coast Guard’s actions, expressed further concern over this latest charge. And President Clinton recently called the Coast Guard’s actions "outrageous." Clinton stated that the actions did not reflect authorized policy and the White House only learned of the problems though news services.

Since this incident, two more, equally dramatic events have occurred.

On July 9, 1999 a Coast Guard vessel and a boat carrying Cuban migrants collided. All twelve passengers were thrown into the ocean, and one woman drowned. According to the Coast Guard, before the collision, the migrants had attempted to evade capture by throwing trash at the Coast Guard vessel. The eleven survivors were taken to the US base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

And on July 12, 1999, 16 Cubans aboard a boat 26 miles of the coast of Florida took desperate measures to try to reach US soil. As two inflatable Coast Guard rafts approach the boat, one of the men doused the boat with a can of diesel fuel, threatening to set it on fire if the Coast Guard kept them from the shore. The Coast Guard backed off and five hours of negotiations began. The incident ended peacefully when the Cubans agreed to relinquish their attempt to enter the US. The INS will interview the 16 passengers, 13 men and 3 women, before deciding whether they should be returned to Cuba.

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