Boat capsizes off of Key West

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A Coast Guard crew rescues eight people south of Key West, Florida, on Thursday. Associated Press/U.S. Coast Guard

The Coast Guard suspended a search Saturday for 10 missing Cubans whose boat sank Wednesday as it traveled across the Florida Straits. On Thursday, the Coast Guard rescued eight people and pulling two bodies from the water. They brought the survivors onto one of its vessels for food, water, and medical attention.

Does this happen often? The number of Cubans that the Coast Guard picks up is set to surpass the amount from October 2018 to September 2019. Crews have interdicted more than 300 Cubans since October, and 200 of those were in the past two months. U.S. officials usually repatriate them to Cuba. But interdictions are still down from before President Barack Obama’s January 2017 decision to stop granting residency to any Cuban who set foot on U.S. soil.

Dig deeper: Read my report about another Coast Guard rescue of stranded Cubans in February.

Rachel Lynn Aldrich

Rachel is a former assistant editor for WORLD Digital. She is a Patrick Henry College and World Journalism Institute graduate. Rachel resides with her husband in Wheaton, Ill.