MIAMI — More than a thousand migrants from Haiti and Cuba have risked their lives sailing to Florida to flee from the political and economic turmoil in their home countries over the past year, according to federal authorities.
About 300 migrants from Haiti arrived in an overloaded wooden boat offshore from an exclusive gated community in northern Key Largo on Sunday afternoon. More than half swam to shore and many needed medical attention.
In five months, from Oct. 1 of last year to March 1, the U.S. Coast Guard had already stopped 993 Haitians at sea, the military branch said last week in a statement. Now that number is set to increase significantly with the most recent arrival.
