Adrian Frater, News EditorWESTERN BUREAU:
ELEVEN CUBAN nationals, who were rescued 85 miles off Jamaica's north west coast early yesterday morning, are in the custody of the Montego Bay police, awaiting a decision on their fate from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Cubans, who were picked up by the crew of a Bahamian cargo vessel Spirit on its way from Texas, USA, to Venezuela, were fortunate, as the boat in which they were travelling developed mechanical problems and was sinking.
INTERVIEWED AND EXAMINED
They were turned over to the Montego Bay police at about 3:30 a.m. and taken to the Freeport Police Station, where they were offered accommodation. At daybreak, local officials who visited the police
station, interviewed them and subsequently had them medically examined.
In their interviews, the Cubans, all men, were reportedly found with fraudulent documents and admitted to officials that they were fleeing their homeland and were bound for Mexico. The group, a
mixture of professional and casual workers, range in age from 27 to 46 years.
Unlike Haitian refugees, who have been targeting Jamaica over the past year, the Cubans generally head for Miami, where there is a large Cuban/American community. It is not known if the United States was the final destination for the group now in Montego Bay.
"They have been speaking to us but we are not able to relate all they have said to us," said a police source in Montego Bay. "We would much prefer if you direct the sensitive questions to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
