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Five Cuban rafters die at sea in attempt to leave country

Sandokan

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Five Cuban rafters die at sea in attempt to leave country
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2011-12/10/c_131298548.htm

HAVANA, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Five Cubans died at sea during an illegal attempt to leave the island in a home-made raft, while another 18 were rescued by the army and oil workers, the Interior Ministry announced Friday.

The boat capsized in the turbulent sea, killing four crew members Thursday morning. Another rafter died when he jumped into the sea shortly before the boat arrived at the coast, according to the ministry's report.

The report said coast guards aided the other shipwreck survivors, 14 men and four women, when their ship landed on the northern Cuban coast. The survivors received quick medical care and were then sent to hospitals in Havana and Matanzas.

The group of at least 23 rafters left from a place in the northern province of Artemisa in the last days of November, the report said.

A joint group of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Interior Forces are currently undertaking an intense aerial search along the northern coast for possible survivors or bodies.
Again the backdrop of the Castros tyranny “reforms” greeted by the mainstream media, Cubans continue to risk their lives to escape from workers paradise. Five more victims of the Castro brothers, the cause of this tragedy.
 
From 1959 through 2010, some 50,000 Cubans managed to escape from the island, mostly by sea in small boats and makeshift rafts keep afloat by using inner tubes and disregards tires as floating devises. The estimate number of the victims is based in Dr. Armando Lago research, data from the Oceanographic Institute of the University of Miami and the University of Havana, and reports by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The .U.S. Coast Guard estimates that only one in four “balseros”(rafters) who have attempted to escape has been successful, 25% have been captured and many of them send back, and 50% have died in the attempt. The estimate number of casualties that died at sea attempting to escape is over 100,000.

Dr. Armando Lago received his master and doctorate in economics from Harvard University. He had a distinguished career as university professor, and a specialist in the field of international transportation. Among other things he was co-author with Maria Werlau of the book "The politics of psychiatry in revolutionary Cuba", 1991. His life’s legacy was to help build the Cuba Archive.
 
There are no US embargo boats in the area to pick of some of these escapers and bring them to the US for sanctuary? Oh wait. People aren't noble like that.
 
The mainstream media bias continues to talk about how wonderful is life in Cuba, at the same time that these tragedies are happening. Lefties try to paint the Castros’ regime as a wonderful place to live, except that they have opted for living someplace else. If that is the case, why 200,000 thousands Cubans have risked their lives on makeshift rafts to escape from Dr. Castro island paradise?
 
The mainstream media bias continues to talk about how wonderful is life in Cuba, at the same time that these tragedies are happening. Lefties try to paint the Castros’ regime as a wonderful place to live, except that they have opted for living someplace else. If that is the case, why 200,000 thousands Cubans have risked their lives on makeshift rafts to escape from Dr. Castro island paradise?

*wink wink* They were not escapists. But dirty, scurvy pirates just waiting for their time to go to the botton of Davy Jones locker.

Just like all the pirates trying to escape Libya.. Err.. Did I say escape. I meant plunder. At least we have fleets of ships patrolling to deal with those dirty scoundrals. MAN im stupid.
 
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The mainstream media bias continues to talk about how wonderful is life in Cuba, at the same time that these tragedies are happening. Lefties try to paint the Castros’ regime as a wonderful place to live, except that they have opted for living someplace else. If that is the case, why 200,000 thousands Cubans have risked their lives on makeshift rafts to escape from Dr. Castro island paradise?

i'm a lefty and i don't believe cuba is a wonderful place to live. they do have decent healthcare, however.
 
i'm a lefty and i don't believe cuba is a wonderful place to live. they do have decent healthcare, however.

Sure they do. If you don't die in a raft running away from that hellhole as fast as you can.
 
The mainstream media bias continues to talk about how wonderful is life in Cuba, at the same time that these tragedies are happening. Lefties try to paint the Castros’ regime as a wonderful place to live, except that they have opted for living someplace else. If that is the case, why 200,000 thousands Cubans have risked their lives on makeshift rafts to escape from Dr. Castro island paradise?

Where? :lol:
 
Yah, I don't see any mainstream bias in favor of Cuba at all.

It's always funny to see conservatives talk about the rafters coming to America as proof that Cuba is a hellhole. Do you guys just literally forget about Mexico entirely? The last time I checked that place was pretty capitalist, and there are a few people trying to get out of there too... like millions of them. Isn't it strange how conservatives will talk about illegal immigration all day, but only care about the economic condition they came from when the immigrants are from Cuba. It the worst kind of selective memory and hypocrisy.

Add on top of it that the U.S. actively adds to Cuba's economic pain by putting up an embargo that absolutely no honest and informed person believes is about democracy and human rights. The embargo came directly out of a spat between Cuba and the U.S. about Cuba's domestic control of property rights shortly after Castro took power. Castro ended up nationalizing the U.S. companies in Cuba and the U.S. placed the embargo in response. The message: if you won't let our companies exploit and overcharge your people we will do our best to stop them from reaping the benefits. America is only keeping the embargo up because they are afraid of seeing another economic system succeed (its the only thing that explains why the U.S. can be buddy buddy is a much more repressive country like Saudi Arabia).

That's not to say I'm Castro's biggest fan. He should have delivered on his democratic promises in the same way he did his economic one. The left will never be able to forgive him for that, especially considering how good that could have looked when combined to just how much he helped the poor in his country.
 
Yah, I don't see any mainstream bias in favor of Cuba at all.

It's always funny to see conservatives talk about the rafters coming to America as proof that Cuba is a hellhole. Do you guys just literally forget about Mexico entirely? The last time I checked that place was pretty capitalist, and there are a few people trying to get out of there too... like millions of them. Isn't it strange how conservatives will talk about illegal immigration all day, but only care about the economic condition they came from when the immigrants are from Cuba. It the worst kind of selective memory and hypocrisy.

Add on top of it that the U.S. actively adds to Cuba's economic pain by putting up an embargo that absolutely no honest and informed person believes is about democracy and human rights. The embargo came directly out of a spat between Cuba and the U.S. about Cuba's domestic control of property rights shortly after Castro took power. Castro ended up nationalizing the U.S. companies in Cuba and the U.S. placed the embargo in response. The message: if you won't let our companies exploit and overcharge your people we will do our best to stop them from reaping the benefits. America is only keeping the embargo up because they are afraid of seeing another economic system succeed (its the only thing that explains why the U.S. can be buddy buddy is a much more repressive country like Saudi Arabia).

That's not to say I'm Castro's biggest fan. He should have delivered on his democratic promises in the same way he did his economic one. The left will never be able to forgive him for that, especially considering how good that could have looked when combined to just how much he helped the poor in his country.
Balseros (rafter) narrate their ordeal
CUBA: Cubanos que lo arriesgan todo tirándose al mar. Sobreviviente narra lo acontecido. - YouTube

In this video made by Martha Beatriz Roque, the balseros that survived the ordeal narrate the death of nine of the 27 Cubans, not five death and 23 balseros like was reported by the news media, that fail in their attempt to escape from the island of Dr. Castro.

According to one of the women survivor, they left on December 1 on a home make raft. The next day when the GPS broke they became adrift and try to turn back but the raft capsized. They manage to righting the raft and drained the water, but lost the fresh water and food supplied. Five of the people that drank large amount of sea water when they were afloat became ill and eventually died, and when their bodies decomposed were thrown overboard. On December 9 near the Cuban coast two young men jump into the sea, disappeared and presume dead. When they reach the coast with one dead body on board, the raft hit the reef and wrecked, and two people drowned. Some of the survivors walk to a nearby road and asked a group of workers for help. They look for the rest of the survivors, give them water, rescue one the dead body, and took the 18 survivors to a nearby hospital. The workers, not the coast guards, aided the survivors. Do you really believe the statement that the regime is “undertaking an intense aerial search” for possible survivors or bodies? If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you.
 
Sandokan said:
According to one of the women survivor, they left on December 1 on a home make raft. The next day when the GPS broke they became adrift and try to turn back but the raft capsized. They manage to righting the raft and drained the water, but lost the fresh water and food supplied. Five of the people that drank large amount of sea water when they were afloat became ill and eventually died, and when their bodies decomposed were thrown overboard.

This is expected when you have absolutely no experience in either constructing or sailing a boat.

On December 9 near the Cuban coast two young men jump into the sea, disappeared and presume dead.

This is expected when you jump into the sea.

When they reach the coast with one dead body on board, the raft hit the reef and wrecked, and two people drowned.

Maybe they shouldn't have gotten on a crappy built raft.
 
There are no US embargo boats in the area to pick of some of these escapers and bring them to the US for sanctuary? Oh wait. People aren't noble like that.

Did you read the article?

It capsized off the shore of Cuba - the survivors were rescued and brought ashore in Cuba and given care there. They weren't in the US - likely not even in international waters - but they were rescued.
 
Balseros (rafter) narrate their ordeal
CUBA: Cubanos que lo arriesgan todo tirándose al mar. Sobreviviente narra lo acontecido. - YouTube

In this video made by Martha Beatriz Roque, the balseros that survived the ordeal narrate the death of nine of the 27 Cubans, not five death and 23 balseros like was reported by the news media, that fail in their attempt to escape from the island of Dr. Castro.

According to one of the women survivor, they left on December 1 on a home make raft. The next day when the GPS broke they became adrift and try to turn back but the raft capsized. They manage to righting the raft and drained the water, but lost the fresh water and food supplied. Five of the people that drank large amount of sea water when they were afloat became ill and eventually died, and when their bodies decomposed were thrown overboard. On December 9 near the Cuban coast two young men jump into the sea, disappeared and presume dead. When they reach the coast with one dead body on board, the raft hit the reef and wrecked, and two people drowned. Some of the survivors walk to a nearby road and asked a group of workers for help. They look for the rest of the survivors, give them water, rescue one the dead body, and took the 18 survivors to a nearby hospital. The workers, not the coast guards, aided the survivors. Do you really believe the statement that the regime is “undertaking an intense aerial search” for possible survivors or bodies? If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you.

I should have been clearer. I don't see overarching trends of of pro-Cuban bias in the media. To be honest I have no knowledge at all of the publication your quoting, and my post wasn't directed towards your OP specifically. I'm sure there are articles in existence that have an unfair pro-Cuba bias.

However the media in this country has an overall anti-Cuba bias. This is because they pretend that the embargo is about democratic rights. However, as I have shown, it is absolutely clear that the U.S. upholds the embargo because they want to see a change in Cuban economic policy.
 
Most recent articles I can find about Cuba talk about how its getting better to lease land and raise cats. Not joking.

Is it not getting better or something? What the **** is your point? LOL
 
The Castros tyranny speaks of changes on one hand, but acts with strong arm against human rights initiatives on the other. It is astonishing that progressives couldn’t care less if Cubans are deprived of the civil rights they so passionately want for themselves.

We cannot forget the thousands of Cubans executed without due process, imprisoned, perishing trying to escape in make shift rafts, forced into exile, since the reign of terror of the Castro brothers tyrannical monarchy started 53 years ago.
 
18 Cubans arrive to Honduras after 10 days at sea18 Cubans arrive to Honduras after 10 days at sea - Yahoo! News

AP – Tue, Dec 13, 2011

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Eighteen U.S.-bound Cubans are in Honduras after spending 10 days at sea.
Honduran immigration spokesman Jose Barahona says the Cubans arrived on the island of Guanaja in the Caribbean on Tuesday. He says they left from the Cuban coastal town of Manzanillo on Dec. 4.

More than 1,200 Cubans have arrived in Honduras under similar circumstances over the last five years. Authorities often extend 15- or 30-day humanitarian visas to the immigrants.

Many wind up continuing their illegal journey, hiring smugglers to take them to the United States. Cuba and Honduras re-established diplomatic ties in 2001 after a nearly 40-year break.
Castros’ tyranny cosmetic reforms, praised in many articles by the mainstream media, practically have done very little for the Cuban people who actually experience them. Most of those articles imply the reforms are providing more freedoms, but the reality is that the people continuous to be oppressed by a regime which has practically no tolerance for dissent.

The fact that the Cubans continues to risk their lived by throwing themselves into the sea on rickety rafts in order to escape the Castros tyranny, illustrates how ridiculous those reforms are.
 
Again the backdrop of the Castros tyranny “reforms” greeted by the mainstream media, Cubans continue to risk their lives to escape from workers paradise. Five more victims of the Castro brothers, the cause of this tragedy.

But...but...but...they have great health care!
 
More frequently desperate Cubans are taking the long way off the island, escaping to Honduras, whose immigration policies have made it the hottest new heaven among Cuban refugees fleeing the Castros tyrannical regime. Due to the fact the many rafters get caught by the U.S. Coast Guard in the heavily patrol waters of the Florida straits, they attempt the risky voyage of 500 miles to Honduras than the 90 miles trip to Florida fleeing the Castros regime miserable human conditions, most of them seeking ultimately to get to the United States.
 
Homemade refugee boat found abandoned off MarathonHomemade refugee boat found abandoned off Marathon | boat, marathon, homemade - WPEC 12 West Palm Beach

December 23, 2011 4:06 PM


http://images.onset.freedom.com/wpec/lwodfz-lwodevpicture4.png
That this 14-foot makeshift boat is even seaworthy is astounding enough. It looks like a pile of junk metal. But look closely and you see precise welds, a homemade throttle, rudder cut by torch from a street sign and signs of a desperate flight to freedom.

DUCK KEY, Fla. -- Two Florida fishermen found a boat used by people fleeing Cuba. What makes the boat unique is it appears to be entirely homemade.

That this 14-foot makeshift boat is even seaworthy is astounding enough. It looks like a pile of junk metal. But look closely and you see precise welds, a homemade throttle, rudder cut by torch from a street sign and signs of a desperate flight to freedom.

It even has a motor converted from an Isuzu, complete with the muffler that came with the car.
A pair of fishermen spotted the craft Tuesday adrift 2 miles off Marathon and found an up-close connection to some desperate group's well-planned journey from Cuba, probably within the last week.

On board were three sets of men's clothing, fuel in plastic bottles, canned food, powdered milk and glucose in IV bags ... and anxiety medication.

Officials say the people on board were picked up by the Coast Guard and likely will be sent back to their home country.
The Cuban people continuous to be inspire by the “wonderful” reforms of the Castros tyranny. They are inspired to design ingenious rafts to escape the slave island of Dr. Castro.
 
i'm a lefty and i don't believe cuba is a wonderful place to live. they do have decent healthcare, however.

They have arguably the finest Health care in the entire World freely available (so long as you are a member of the Cuban Communist party), otherwise not so good.
 
The mainstream media bias continues to talk about how wonderful is life in Cuba, at the same time that these tragedies are happening. Lefties try to paint the Castros’ regime as a wonderful place to live, except that they have opted for living someplace else. If that is the case, why 200,000 thousands Cubans have risked their lives on makeshift rafts to escape from Dr. Castro island paradise?
What could be considered a BIG motivator for these "boat people" is the DEAL they get if they make it to the USA.

Legal or illegal, they are Immediately given "refugee" status. They IMMEDIATELY receive special housing, money, food, and support in the USA.

In ONE year, they are GUARANTEED to be issued a PERMANENT Green Card to WORK in the USA, and become a PERMANENT Legal Resident.

They have a FAR better deal than US citizens born here.

Ilegal Cuban Migrants Get Immediate Benefits and Services: a Green Card in a Year: Illegal Immigrants from Cuba: Preferential Treatment to get Green Card
Illegal Cuban Migrants Get Immediate Benefits and Services: a Green Card in a Year
Cuban migrants get preferential treatment from the U.S. government, and it does not matter if the migrant enters illegally or legally. Since 1959, Cubans have enjoyed a status not accorded to any other immigrant group over time. In this work, I examine both the preferences given to those Cubans entering the country illegally or legally, and discuss the types and reasons for the preferences.

On Jan. 12, 2010, Janet Napolitano, the secretary of homeland security, made the Obama administration’s policy clear: “It is important to note that TPS (Temporary Protected Status) will apply only to those [Haitian] individuals who were in the United States as of January 12, 2010. Those who attempt to travel to the United States after January 12, 2010 will not be eligible for TPS and will be repatriated.”

“In FY 2008, there were 49,500 Cubans who became legal permanent residents( LPRs)--surpassed only by LPRs from Mexico, China, India and the Philippines. Yet very few Cubans have arrived in the United States through the legal avenues proscribed by the INA.”
(Ruth Ellen Wasem, “Cuban Migration to the U.S.: Policy and Trends” Congressional Research Service, June 2, 2009.

The reasons for the differences in the way Cubans are treated from other illegals is the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, Cuban-U.S. migrant agreements of 1994 and 1995, and law added in 1996. The 1966 Act permitted any Cuban who had been in the U.S. for a year and a day, regardless of how they got here, to have their status adjusted to that of a Legal Permanent Resident. Through the use of political power by U.S. Cubans, they have successfully defeated every attempt to repeal the 1966 Act and have been able to add further preferences for Cuban immigrants, whether legal or illegal. It is also a matter of class and resources; Cubans in the U.S. are able to pay thousands of dollars to have traffickers bring Cubans here illegally, to give them jobs, and help them get U.S. government benefits, while most illegals from other countries do not have the same resources or influence. Class and politics matter in immigrants matters, as Napolitano’s remarks vividly point out.

Rather than applying the laws that are set forth in the Immigration and Nationality Act, the U.S. treats Cubans as refugees, thereby allowing temporary entrance into the U.S., and then under the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, they can apply for permanent residency and eventually citizenship under expediated process designed for them.

While discussion of migrants is an everyday event, the failure to fully discuss policies of the U.S. toward Cuban immigration is a void that needs to be corrected. While we believe the Cold War is over, there are many who want to keep it alive, if downsized, for political, partisan and policy reasons. On January 15, 2011, we have an example of this tendency in an article in the Wall Street Journal called, “New Prize in Cold War: Cuban Doctors” about the U.S. program to encourage defections of doctors serving in foreign countries. Not only is it an encouragement to lure illegal immigrants--the doctors do not have documents from Cuba allowing them to travel to the U.S.-- but it affects our foreign policy and diplomacy.
 
26 Cubans Taken Into Custody in the Keys
26 Cuban migrants reach land in Keys - 01/16/2012 | MiamiHerald.com

By Alfonso Chardy
achardy@ElNuevoHerald.com
Monday 16, 2012

Twenty-six Cubans came ashore near Newfound Harbor in the Florida Keys in what authorities described as a possible migrant-smuggling operation.

The refugees, who arrived Friday, were taken into custody by the U.S. Border Patrol during an operation that also involved the Coast Guard, according to federal officials who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak about the case.
Raul Castro’s reforms are so good and so welcome by the Cuban people that they continue escaping from the island paradise on rickety rafts or their relatives pay to human smugglers to take them out of Cuba and bringing to the U.S.
 
2 Cuban migrants escape Cayman detention
2 Cuban migrants escape Cayman detention - Cuba - MiamiHerald.com

By Juan O. Tamayo
JTAMAYO@ELNUEVOHERALD.COM

Two Cuban boatpeople who escaped from a detention center in the Cayman Islands remained at large Tuesday and might have found a way to leave the Caribbean territory, officials said.

Authorities said Rafael Hidalgo Figueredo and Fernando Figueredo Corrales, both in their 30s, were reported missing Sunday, according to the Cayman News service.

One Cayman government official involved in the hunt for the Cubans said it was “not beyond the realm of the possible” that the pair might have been picked up by friends or relatives aboard a “go-fast” boat.
Seems that some of the Castros' slaves have manage to reached freedom after all. They keep getting the hell out of the island of Dr. Castro 53 years later.
 
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