14ymedio(EFE), Panama, February 26, 2024 — Jamaica returned 10 irregular migrants to Cuba, and the Cayman Islands returned another 4, along with 257 citizens of the Island deported from several countries in the region so far in 2024, according to official media reported this Sunday.
The group of Cuban migrants returned by the Jamaican authorities on a flight that arrived this Saturday in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba had left illegally by sea, according to a report from the Ministry of the Interior.
This week, the United States also reported the deportation of two groups of Cuban migrants. One was made up of 16 men, eight women and a minor, delivered on Wednesday by the U.S. Coast Guard Service, and another 51 were deported by air on Thursday.
This week, the United States also reported the deportation of two groups of Cuban migrants
To date, in 2024 there have been 21 returns with 257 irregular migrants, according to the Ministry’s report.
In 2023, Cuba received a total of 5,253 nationals, returned mostly from the United States but also from Mexico, the Bahamas, Belize, the Cayman Islands and the Dominican Republic.
Cuba is experiencing an unprecedented migratory wave, due to the serious economic crisis on the Island, with a great shortage of basic products (food, medicines and fuel), a galloping inflation, frequent power outages and a partial dollarization of the economy.
The 2022 estimates indicate that around 4% of the Cuban population left the country, and last year’s figures could be similar