Sign in Subscribe
Refugees

Record Number of Cuban Refugees Rescued by Coast Guard

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

The Coast Guard has rescued 3,665 Cuban refugees in 1994, breaking the previous record set in 1980. This year's total includes 1,117 migrants picked up in June alone. The increased flow of refugees is attributed to Cubans' growing dissatisfaction with the Castro regime and the country's deteriorating economy. The rescue operation has also led to a record number of Haitians being intercepted by the Coast Guard, with 1,667 migrants picked up off Haiti's coast in June and 4,426 interdicted for the year to date.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Coast Guard has rescued 3,665 Cuban refugees in 1994, breaking the previous record set in 1980, when nearly 125,000 refugees flooded into south Florida.
  • The majority of the Cuban refugees were picked up in the summer months, with 1,117 migrants being rescued in June alone.
  • The increased number of refugees is attributed to Cubans' growing dissatisfaction with the Castro regime and the country's deteriorating economy.
  • The Coast Guard has also intercepted a record number of Haitians, with 1,667 migrants picked up off Haiti's coast in June and 4,426 interdicted for the year to date.
  • The Coast Guard is taking the Haitian refugees to the U.S. Navy ship Comfort for preliminary asylum hearings.
  • The Coast Guard's record-breaking year follows a change in U.S. policy under President Clinton, which permits shipboard asylum hearings for refugees picked up at sea.

Statistics:

  • 3,665: The number of Cuban refugees rescued by the Coast Guard in 1994.
  • 3,656: The previous record for the number of Cuban refugees rescued in a single year, set in 1980.
  • 1,117: The number of Cuban refugees rescued in June 1994.
  • 125,000: The number of Cuban refugees who flooded into south Florida in 1980.
  • 1,667: The number of Haitian refugees picked up off Haiti's coast in June 1994.
  • 4,426: The number of Haitian refugees interdicted by the Coast Guard in 1994.
  • 786: The number of Haitians intercepted by the Coast Guard over the weekend.

Sources:

  • [Jeff Hall, Coast Guard spokesperson], Miami Herald, June 27. "Record number of Cuban refugees rescued by Coast Guard."

Read more