Coast Guard Intercepts Cubans After Confrontation

http://www.nbc17.com/news/5012920/detail.html

HAULOVER BEACH, Fla. -- The U.S. Coast Guard took 10 Cuban men riding in a makeshift boat into custody Friday.

It happened after an hour-long confrontation in the Atlantic Ocean about five miles from shore.

The men were spotted just after 11 a.m. near Haulover Beach in a boat, which appeared to be made of wood with a motor in the center of the body and a makeshift sail.

Coast Guard cutters approached the boat and attempted to get the men to surrender peacefully.

A Department of Homeland Security boat later joined the Coast Guard vessels, and after more than an hour of trying to negotiate with the men, a Coast Guard cutter rammed the boat, knocking several of the passengers into the water.

The men then surrendered about two miles from shore and were placed on a Coast Guard boat. Luis Diaz, a spokesman for the Coast Guard, said Immigration officials would talk to the men aboard the Coast Guard boat, at which time the men could make their case for asylum.

Diaz said the Coast Guard has intercepted more than 2,000 refugees so far this year.