Thread: Cuban boy, 6, drowns at sea

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12897193.htm

Posted on Fri, Oct. 14, 2005


IMMIGRATION
Cuban boy, 6, drowns at sea
A 6-year-old migrant Cuban boy's death in the Florida Straits triggered a federal investigation into the circumstances leading to his drowning.
BY JENNIFER BABSON AND LUISA YANEZ
jbabson@herald.com

KEY WEST - A 6-year-old Cuban boy drowned early Thursday about 52 miles south of Key West after a Florida-registered speedboat fleeing the U.S. Coast Guard flipped over in the Florida Straits.

The boy's parents and 28 other people -- at least two of whom are suspected migrant smugglers -- were rescued from deep waters by officials with the Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The little boy was discovered beneath the 33-foot boat by authorities after rescuers pulled the rest of the boat's passengers to safety. His lifeless body, along with survivors, was aboard a Coast Guard cutter off the Keys Thursday. Also aboard was a chaplain flown in from the mainland to comfort the boy's parents.

The circumstances surrounding the boy's death have prompted a federal investigation and a plea from Cuban-American lawmakers to bring the boy's body and his parents to the United States.

Late Thursday, investigators with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were en route to the cutter to interview survivors and determine who captained the illegal vessel.

Barbara Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for ICE, declined to comment Thursday.

It's not clear whether federal prosecutors intend to charge anyone in connection with the boy's death.

''At this point, we cannot comment on the specifics of this matter,'' said Alicia Valle, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Miami. ``However, when any death results, but especially that of a child, the office closely scrutinizes the facts of the case.''

One possible federal charge: attempted alien smuggling resulting in death. Anyone convicted could be sentenced to death.

SMUGGLERS BLAMED

Coast Guard officials blamed the boy's death on the alleged smugglers who manned the boat.

''That young man died because smugglers overloaded that boat, drove it carelessly, and it resulted in him losing his life,'' said Capt. Phil Heyl, commander of Coast Guard Sector Key West.

Complicating matters for authorities is the controversial U.S. ''wet foot, dry foot'' immigration policy that applies to Cubans. It typically allows Cubans who reach land to stay here, while those apprehended at sea are generally returned to Cuba.

In this case, the survivors, including the child's parents, would normally be returned to Cuba because they were caught at sea. But they are all potential witnesses in a criminal case.

In the past, the U.S. attorney's office, in close consultation with the U.S. State Department, has pressed for the ''dry-footing'' of some Cuban migrants in order to pursue criminal prosecution.

In August 2001, the government brought 20 Cubans to shore after their boat capsized at sea in another migrant-smuggling fiasco that claimed six lives. Two men, Roberto Montero-Dominguez and Osvaldo Fernandez-Marrero, both of Miami-Dade County, were charged with attempted smuggling of illegal aliens resulting in death. They later pleaded guilty.

By late Thursday, prominent Cuban Americans in Miami were lobbying for at least some of the survivors to be brought ashore.

U.S. Rep. Lincoln DÃÂ*az-Balart, R-Miami, and U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros Lehtinen, R-Miami, appealed to the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department to allow the boy's body and his parents to reach U.S. soil.

''We want the boy to have a proper burial,'' said Ana Carbonell, chief of staff for DÃÂ*az-Balart.

TIMELINE

The events leading up to the boy's death began to unfold around 12:40 a.m. Thursday when a Coast Guard cutter, the Dauntless, spotted the boat carrying the Cuban migrants on an infrared radar that tracks the heat patterns of fast-moving vessels.

At that point, the Coast Guard cutter was probably 50 to 100 yards from the boat, Heyl said.

The Coast Guard launched a small inflatable boat to pursue the suspected smugglers.

A chase followed for more than 30 minutes, according to Coast Guard officials, who said the vessel began ''moving erratically.'' Coast Guard personnel ordered the boat to halt, but it continued to flee, according to Chris O'Neil, a Coast Guard spokesman in Miami.

Then, O'Neil said, the boat slowed and ''water began to pour over the stern.'' Panicked passengers rushed to the vessel's bow and started jumping off.

''The boat rolled and eventually capsized and came to rest upside down with some people clinging to the hull,'' O'Neil said.

Once the boat flipped, the Coast Guard immediately began plucking terrified Cubans from the water and dispatched another small boat. A short time later, a Customs and Border Protection boat also arrived to help.

''We got on scene, and the boat had already capsized. There were people in the water and we immediately proceeded into a rescue,'' said Zachary Mann, spokesman for Customs and Border Protection.

ONE WAS MISSING

Thirty people were pulled from the Straits onto several boats. Survivors then cried out that one person -- the 6-year-old boy -- was missing.

The Coast Guard immediately launched an aircraft to search for the young boy, while also working to right the boat.

Finally, four hours after the speedboat had capsized, it was turned over. It was then the boy's body was found.

''He basically appeared as the vessel was righted,'' O'Neil said.

Moments later, a Coast Guard health technician confirmed the worst. The boy did not have a pulse.

Herald staff writer Alfonso Chardy contributed to this report.

www.sun-sentinel.com

6-year-old dies when suspected migrant smuggling boat capsizes

October 13, 2005, 2:25 PM EDT

MIAMI – The Coast Guard on Thursday said a 6-year-old boy died when he was trapped beneath an overturned go-fast boat suspected of smuggling him and other migrants into the country from Cuba.

Here's what the Coast Guard said happened starting around 12:58 a.m. in the Florida Straits about 45 miles south of Key West:

A 33-foot go-fast boat was spotted on radar and the cutter Dauntless gave chase, locating it visually at 1:01 a.m. The operator of the smuggling vessel refused orders to stop and began erratically maneuvering his boat away.

The crew of the Dauntless said it lost sight of the boat at that point.

The high-speed was found about 20 minutes later, capsized. Thirty people were found clinging to its hull.

The Coast Guard launched a rescue boat and picked up 10 people and at 1:40 a.m. a Customs and Border Protection boat crew joined in the rescue, plucking the 20 other migrants from the water.

While questioning the migrants it was learned the 6-year-old boy was missing.

A Coast Guard helicopter was called in and began searching the waters for the missing boy while the Dauntless crew began righting the overturned vessel. When the hull of the go-fast was righted, crewmen found the boy underneath dead.

The Coast Guard said the boat's operator was rescued from the sea and is undergoing questioning. An investigation into the smuggling venture and the child's death continues.

Officials said the type of boat makes it clear that it was a smuggling boat and not a group of Cubans trying to leave the communist island without help.

``Small boats, very fast, trying to evade us -- that's typical with what we see when we're dealing with migrant smugglers,'' Coast Guard Petty Officer Ryan Doss said. ``We don't see these types of boats leaving Cuba unless they're smuggling.''

The 30 survivors were being held aboard the Dauntless until a decision is made whether to return them to Cuba.

It was not known if the boy's parents were among the survivors. Under the U.S. government's ``wet-foot, dry-foot'' policy, immigrants intercepted at sea are usually returned while those who make it to land are generally allowed to stay.

The U.S. government has prosecuted smugglers for the deaths of Cubans at sea. The Coast Guard was trying to determine if any of those rescued were the smugglers.





http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/12907963.htm

Posted on Sat, Oct. 15, 2005


IMMIGRATION
Dead boy's folks enter U.S.
Federal authorities brought a dead 6-year-old boy to shore with his parents as prosecutors debate whether to pursue a criminal case against smuggling suspects.
BY ELAINE DE VALLE AND JENNIFER BABSON
jbabson@herald.com

KEY WEST - As federal authorities weighed possible criminal prosecution against migrant-smuggling suspects whose boat capsized early Thursday in the Florida Straits, the parents of a 6-year old boy who died in the ordeal were on their way to Key West late Friday.

The parents, among more than two dozen survivors of the failed smuggling trip, were allowed to enter the United States in a departure from normal procedure under the wet-foot/dry-foot immigration policy.

Generally, Cubans apprehended at sea are returned to Cuba; those who reach the United States typically can remain here.

Acting U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said he asked officials in Washington to permit Julian Villasuso's parents to enter the United States.

The couple, Julian Villasuso, 49, and Maizy Hurtado, 32, along with the other survivors could become key witnesses in a federal case against the alleged smugglers. The others remained aboard the Coast Guard cutter on Friday night.

''The United States Attorney's Office is in the process of reviewing the evidence to determine whether prosecution is appropriate,'' Acosta said in a statement.

In the past, the U.S. Attorney's Office, in consultation with the State Department, has pressed to bring some Cuban migrants into the United States to assist in prosecutions.

In this case, the smugglers could face a federal charge of attempted alien smuggling resulting in death, an offense that can carry the death penalty.

CASE DEBATED

Federal investigators and prosecutors spent Friday debating whether to mount a criminal case against the smuggling suspects, who were rescued along with their passengers by the Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection some 52 miles south of Key West. The vessel toppled with 31 people aboard, including young Julian, who died when he became trapped beneath the 33-foot boat.

PRELIMINARY AUTOPSY

His body was turned over late Thursday to the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office, which said preliminary results of an autopsy indicate he drowned.

The rest of the passengers were rescued after the vessel began taking on water and capsized at 1:24 a.m. Thursday following a nearly 30-minute chase by the Coast Guard.

Julian was not discovered until hours later, floating underneath the vessel as it was righted.

On Friday afternoon, the Coast Guard also brought a female passenger ashore after she showed signs of appendicitis. She was not identified. The child is related to former Miami Commissioner Willy Gort's nephew, Alex. News of the boy's death stunned his relatives.

Mari Villasuso, the boy's aunt, described her nephew as a ``joyful, happy kid.''

''He was always smiling. He would just giggle and it made you laugh,'' she said.

Relatives in Miami first heard of the incident from family in Cuba, Villasuso said.

''They heard the news that a boat had capsized, and my brother was missing from home,'' she said. ``So they called me, and I started calling the Coast Guard. Late at night, they confirmed that the three names I gave them were involved.''

PLANS NOT KNOWN

She said she had no idea of her brother's plans to come to Miami.

''I knew he wanted to come here and he had applied for a visa,'' she said. ``But I never would have expected this.''

She said other relatives, including her parents and two brothers, were aware of the Villasuso family's decision to slip out of Cuba.

`I DON'T UNDERSTAND'

''My mom and dad, it's very hard on them,'' she said. ``I don't know how they got out there. I don't understand how this happened.''

Coast Guard officials said one of the reasons they brought Julian's body to the Keys late Thursday -- before his parents -- was because there is no morgue aboard the 210-foot cutter.

''We don't have really any facilities aboard a cutter to store a deceased body,'' said Ryan Doss, a Miami-based Coast Guard spokesman.

The legal particulars looming for federal authorities were not on the minds of many in Miami's Cuban-American community Friday.

On WAQI (710 AM), a popular Spanish-language talk radio station, Cuban commentator Ninoska Pérez Castellón said the community needed to stop turning to smugglers -- referred to as lancheros or contrabandistas in Spanish -- to solve their immigration woes.

''We have to finish with these smugglers,'' she said. ``This is not the first time someone is killed on the voyage.

''And God knows the ones we don't know about,'' said Armando Gutiérrez, a political consultant who became a spokesman for Elián González's Miami family.

He appeared on the same radio program on Friday.

Gutiérrez also had a message for Cubans on the island who want to employ smugglers to get into the United States.

`FOR MONEY'

''The most important thing is to say that these trips are very dangerous,'' Gutiérrez said. ``The people who bring Cubans here do it for money, not patriotism.''