Cayman Islands to Return Cubans
Michael Gore, the governor of this island nation, said Tuesday that the government will start repatriating Cuban refugees.
The announcement followed failed negotiations aimed at getting a U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay or in Panama to accept 395 Cuban refugees from this upscale British territory in the western Caribbean.
“With the number of Cuban migrants now approaching 400 and more arriving daily . . . Cayman cannot continue to accommodate such migrants,” Gore said.
Of the 400 refugees, 369 have arrived in the last month, swelling Cayman’s tent city and territorial prison beyond capacity.
Washington gave its approval to send the Cubans back, a statement by Gore said. It gave no indication of when repatriation would begin.
In the last four years, about 500 Cubans have reached this three-island territory from Cuba, about 120 miles away. Several Cubans contacted at the tent city Monday said they would take to the seas again rather than return to Cuba.
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