MIAMI – The U.S. Coast Guard repatriated 121 Cuban migrants to Bahia de Cabanas, Cuba, within the past week.
The repatriations were part of nine separate interdictions at sea in the south Florida Straits.
All of the migrants received food, water, shelter and basic medical attention while aboard a Coast Guard cutter, officials said.
"Despite the recent steps to begin normalizing ties with Cuba, the Coast Guard's missions and operations in the southeast remain unchanged," Capt. Mark Fedor, Coast Guard 7th District chief of response, said. "Our immigration policies remain the same, and we continue to strongly discourage those attempting to illegally enter the country by taking to the sea. There are legal ways to enter this country and this is not it."
Since Oct. 1, 2014, more than 4,300 Cubans have attempted to illegally migrate to the U.S. via the sea, Coast Guard officials estimate.
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