http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15083784.htm

Posted on Thu, Jul. 20, 2006

Twenty-eight Cuban migrants set free after hearing

BY JAY WEAVER AND LUISA YANEZ
jweaver@MiamiHerald.com

Cuban migrant Odalys Conde was the first of 28 Cuban migrants to hug her South Florida family Thursday after a federal court hearing in an alleged smuggling case involving the death of a 24-year-old woman during a high-speed chase.

Conde's teenage daughters, who had also made the trip but were released earlier today, welcomed her with kisses and hugs at the federal courthouse tonight.

''I am so happy to be here,'' said a teary-eyed Conde, 40, who received countless hugs from a handful of relatives. Once free, Conde quickly took off her government-issued Kakhi top covering her T-shirt, slacks and flip-flops over white socks.

''I didn't want you girls to see me this way,'' she said apologizing for her haggard appearance. Her relieved parents and brother could not hide their emotion.

The Coast Guard brought the 28 Cuban migrants ashore after detaining them off shore since July 8. The migrants will be material witnesses in the alleged smuggling case in which Anei Machado Gonzalez suffered fatal head injuries during a high-speed chase to reach Florida.

The migrants were allowed to stay so they can testify directly against three men charged with the smuggling attempt that caused the 24-year-old woman's death.

Their go-fast boat was apprehended by authorities on July 8 after the chase, which ended when a Coast Guard officer fired two shots at the vessel's engine to disable it.

The migrants' live testimony before the grand jury or at trial is considered vital to the U.S. government's prosecution of the three defendants, who are being held without bond.

''This decision is the result of the unique circumstances of this specific criminal matter,'' said interim U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta. ``[It] is a reflection of our determination to engage in a complete investigation and a vigorous prosecution of all individuals associated with this incident using all prosecutorial tools at our disposal.''

A federal grand jury in Key West could return an indictment against the three men -- Rolando Gonzalez-Delgado, Heinrich Castillo-Diaz and Yamil Gonzalez-Rodriguez -- as early as Friday. The indictment is expected to include new charges, including attempting to smuggle the migrants into the United States for profit.

Relatives of the three alleged smugglers claim the men were fishing and found the original group of migrants in a sinking boat in the Florida Straits. They further claim the threesome were related to some of the migrants. Those relatives assert that it was a not-for-profit smuggling operation.

The three defendants, first charged by criminal complaint on July 10, are scheduled to enter pleas Monday. If convicted, they could face up to life in prison.

The 28 migrants were brought to Key West late Wednesday and transferred to Customs and Border Protection officials at the Port of Miami, where the two teen-age girls, Yarenis Carpio Conde, 14, and Yamila Carpio Conde, 16, were reunited with local relatives.

The migrants were aboard a speedboat on the early morning of July 8 when it was intercepted by the Coast Guard about four miles south of Boca Chica in the Florida Keys. Gonzalez died after hitting her head when the boat ignored orders to stop and attempted to ram a Coast Guard vessel, authorities said. The Monroe County medical examiner said her death was caused by head and other injuries that are consistent with someone tossed about inside a boat.

''Smugglers often treat migrants as if they were human cargo, with blatant disregard for individual life and safety,'' Acosta said. ``This must stop.''

Bringing the migrants to the United States means they can stay in the country. Under the U.S. ''wet foot/dry foot'' policy, most Cubans who reach U.S. soil are permitted to remain while those interdicted at sea are returned home.

After one year, the 28 will be eligible to become permanent legal residents and later could apply for citizenship.

Ramon Saul Sanchez, head of the Cuban exile group Democracy Movement, described an emotional reunion early Thursday morning when family members learned that the migrants were being allowed to stay.

''They were very happy, screaming and yelling, in the Cuban style,'' he said.

The Bush administration has made other recent exceptions to the ''wet foot/dry foot'' policy, including bringing in the parents of a 6-year-old Cuban boy who died during a smuggling attempt in October. Most of the 29 survivors in that case were returned to Cuba.

Indeed, it is unusual for an entire group to be brought ashore to provide evidence in a criminal smuggling case.

In 2001, immigration authorities allowed Cubans rescued at sea after a migrant smuggling tragedy into the United States, departing from a then-six-year policy of repatriating migrants picked up offshore.

A total of six migrants, including three children, died in the crossing, according to authorities.

The exception was made for the 20 survivors to help U.S. authorities investigate and prosecute growing migrant smuggling operations. They were allowed in as material witnesses in the investigation against two suspected smugglers, who were among those rescued.