A total of 253 Haitians, including 31 children and 61 women, who were traveling by boat with the intention of migrating to the United States, landed at midnight on Sunday at the port of Kasasa, in Cayo Coco, Jardines del Rey, north of Ciego de Ávila, where they are receiving attention in an educational center of the province.

After the event, provincial authorities, headed by Tomás Alexis Martín Venegas and Ania Francisco Malde, governor and vice-governor, respectively, organized the temporary stay at the Manuel Suárez Physical Education Teachers Training School (Ceballos 7), where they are receiving medical care and solidarity aid from Cuba.

María González Padrón, a specialist of the Cuban Red Cross, told Granma that from the first moment they were guaranteed food and other supplies, while contact was established with the highest Cuban authorities to ensure their organized, safe and voluntary return to their country of origin.

Some witnesses involved in the expedition say that the bad weather forced them to land «somewhere in Cuba», where, they admit, they are provided with excellent attention, as has happened on previous occasions.

As soon as the news became known, a group of specialists from the Cuban Red Cross was also mobilized and arrived in advance to prepare the place, set up beds, distributed hygiene, food and basic necessities.

Last February, another group of 292 Haitian migrants arrived in the province of Ciego de Ávila, also in central Cuba, after the boat in which they were sailing drifted after passing the swirling strait of Paso de los Vientos (80 kilometers at its widest point and a depth of up to 1,700 meters), which connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Caribbean Sea.