A total of 586 Haitian migrants, out of the 842 who landed nine days ago along the coast of the municipality of Villa Clara in Caibarién, have already returned to Haiti, by air, from the international airport Abel Santamaría of Villa Clara.
Miguel Ángel Fernández López, director of the Red Cross in the province, told the Cuban newspaper “Granma” that with the departure of two more flights, which will take place between today and Saturday of this week, the return of migrants should be completed.
In accordance with international commitments on migration, of which Cuba is a part, and in correspondence with the bonds of brotherhood, cooperation and solidarity that characterize the bilateral relationship between Haiti and Cuba, the migrants have returned safely and voluntarily to the Caribbean nation, stressed the official, who acknowledged that, in accordance with the humanistic vocation of the Greater Antilles, the Haitian citizens received the necessary care, including medical assistance.
Joyce Paul, one of the castaways who arrived in Villa Clara on May 24, thanked her companions for the care they received at the Sierra Morena campground, where they were staying. “Cuba is beautiful. I thank you for giving us a second chance to live. Cuba will always remain engraved in my heart,” he said.
Since October 2021, the U.S. Coast Guard has seen an increase in the number of people fleeing violence and instability in Haiti.
In the past seven months, U.S. authorities have intercepted 4,500 Haitian refugees leaving their country in rudimentary, overcrowded boats. All of them are desperate to reach the United States.