(Havana) A boat carrying more than 200 Haitians on board, who were trying to reach the United States, ran aground on the Cuban coast in the center-north of the island where they were rescued by the authorities, has announced Tuesday the official daily Granma.
Posted at 7:30 p.m.
The boat ran aground Monday evening on the coast of Caibarien, a village in the province of Villa Clara (center), which was in the past a point of departure for many Cuban migrants seeking to flee the country by sea.
On Tuesday, the 200 Haitians received humanitarian aid and medical assistance, the provincial director of the Red Cross, Miguel Angel Fernandez Lopez, told the daily.
In May, 800 Haitian migrants, including children and a baby, who were also trying to reach the United States, were stranded in the same area.
Another group of 292 Haitians had arrived in Ciego de Avila province, also on the country’s north-central coast, in February. Their boat was adrift.
The islands of Cuba and Haiti are separated by a 77 km strait, the Passage du vent, whose strong currents regularly divert Haitian migrant boats and cause them to run aground on the Cuban coast, particularly in the province of Guantanamo (east).
Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, is shaken by a serious political, economic and social crisis. The island has been ruled by gangs for months. The assassination of its president Jovenel Moïse nearly a year ago has plunged the country even further into uncertainty.