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Cuban migrant windsurfs to Navy property
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com
A Cuba migrant windsurfed across the Florida Straits and came ashore at Naval Air Station Key West property in the Truman Annex Tuesday afternoon.
The migrant told Navy personnel that he had been on the water for about 12 hours, said NAS Key West spokeswoman. He was spotted by nearby Joint Interagency Task Force South security cameras and received medical care.
Custom and Border Protection agents responded to the Navy property, she added.
The incident marked the fourth time since 2014 that federal agencies have searched or found Cuban migrants using the method to cross the dangerous Florida Straits.
In April 2014, the Coast Guard searched for, but never found, a migrant reportedly windsurfing after they received a call from his wife. It was not clear if she lived in Florida or Cuba.
In February 2014, a Cuban windsurfer came ashore in Key West at The Reach Resort, 1435 Simonton St. He told federal authorities that there were two others still at sea.
Two days later, a good Samaritan found the second man drifting on a windsurfing board, about seven to 10 miles south of Big Pine Key. He was dehydrated and exhausted, but otherwise uninjured.
The next day, a good Samaritan found the third man on the southeast side of Marquesas Keys. The Coast Guard picked him up shortly thereafter.
The three men left from Jibacoa, Cuba, a fishing village in the Mayabeque Province on the island nation’s northwest coastline, according to the first windsurfer who landed at The Reach Resort.
alinhardt@keysnews.com
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com
A Cuba migrant windsurfed across the Florida Straits and came ashore at Naval Air Station Key West property in the Truman Annex Tuesday afternoon.
The migrant told Navy personnel that he had been on the water for about 12 hours, said NAS Key West spokeswoman. He was spotted by nearby Joint Interagency Task Force South security cameras and received medical care.
Custom and Border Protection agents responded to the Navy property, she added.
The incident marked the fourth time since 2014 that federal agencies have searched or found Cuban migrants using the method to cross the dangerous Florida Straits.
In April 2014, the Coast Guard searched for, but never found, a migrant reportedly windsurfing after they received a call from his wife. It was not clear if she lived in Florida or Cuba.
In February 2014, a Cuban windsurfer came ashore in Key West at The Reach Resort, 1435 Simonton St. He told federal authorities that there were two others still at sea.
Two days later, a good Samaritan found the second man drifting on a windsurfing board, about seven to 10 miles south of Big Pine Key. He was dehydrated and exhausted, but otherwise uninjured.
The next day, a good Samaritan found the third man on the southeast side of Marquesas Keys. The Coast Guard picked him up shortly thereafter.
The three men left from Jibacoa, Cuba, a fishing village in the Mayabeque Province on the island nation’s northwest coastline, according to the first windsurfer who landed at The Reach Resort.
alinhardt@keysnews.com