8 migrants land on Virginia Key

Posted on Wed, Jun. 04, 2008

Miami Herald staff report



RAUL TORRES/FOR THE MIAMI HERALD
A group of eight migrants arrive from Cuba at Virginia Key on Wednesday morning.For the second time this week, a group of Cuban migrants has landed in South Florida.

This group arrived Wednesday morning in a marshy mangrove area on Virginia Key, their denim pant legs dripping after a slog through shallow waters.

There were eight in the group. They said they built their boat themselves, equipping it with a two-cylinder diesel engine.

The migrants said they tried repeatedly to embark from the island only to discover that the boat propeller was too large for the engine. Finally, they got the boat working.

They said they spent five days at sea, although their story could not be confirmed. The area where they landed is a popular dropping-off point for human smugglers.

The migrants said they ditched their boat in the mangroves near the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather station.

The migrants said recently announced changes, including increased availability of cellphones and the ability to buy one's home, had done little to improve their lives on the island.

Under the United States' wet foot/dry foot policy, Cuban migrants who make it to U.S. soil are generally allowed to stay while those interdicted at sea are generally turned back.

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