9 Cuban rafters come ashore on Key Biscayne WSVN.com 7 News Sep 23, 2014
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A group of rafters claiming to be from Cuba were welcomed with open arms by the management of a South Florida apartment complex after they came ashore on Key Biscayne on a small makeshift boat, Tuesday.
A security guard at Condominium Mar-Azul, located at 600 Grapetree Drive, said he spotted the nine male rafters arriving at the building's gate. Instead of turning away the migrants, the guard opened the gate and let them inside the building.
According to the condominium's manager, the rafters came ashore directly behind the apartment complex around 3 p.m.
"I went to the balcony, and I heard screaming, like happiness," said resident Cristina Plihal, "and I said, 'No, this cannot be it.'"
"When they landed, they thought they were in Key West," said witness Danielle Rodriguez, "and [people] were like, 'No, you're in Miami.'"
Witnesses said the migrants screamed in Spanish that they had been on the water for at least 10 days. "As soon as they came out, they started screaming, very happy and everything," said Plihal.
A crowd began to gather to watch it all unfold. "They were from Camagüey, Cuba," said Rodriguez, "and they were like, 'Help us. We're from Cuba, like, we just made it here,' and they ran to the beach."
The men then approached the Mar-Azul front gate and asked a construction worker and the security guard to let them in the building, a moment captured on cell phone video. The guard is heard in the video telling the rafters, "Welcome to the land of freedom" in Spanish.
"They walked through to the buildings and everything, and started screaming, 'Cuba! Cuba!'" said Plihal, "so it was like, I got goose bumps."
Witnesses said the men told them they had experienced four rough storms during their long trek on a small boat strapped with inner tubes and powered by a small diesel car engine. They told witnesses they faced 10- to 13-foot waves with only the motor and their own manpower to push them more than 100 miles to the U.S.
"And they had brought 300 gallons of water with them, and that's all they had," said Rodriguez. "[They said], 'We'd drink water for 12 days.'"
The migrants added that they spent days physically rowing the boat to ensure they did not run out of gas. They said they powered the engine once they crossed the horizon and could see land ahead.
"It's a nasty body of water they're crossing," said witness Billy Kaynor. "I was very impressed with the tenacity, the human spirit."
The rafters later left Mar-Azul in Border Patrol vans. Officials said the migrants were checked out to make sure they are in good health. They were taken to the Dania Beach Border Control Processing Center and later released.
A bucket filled with sand and a small pipe attached to the migrants' boat through a rope kept it from drifting away on the beach. It was later removed.
Witnesses said they have lived in Miami their entire lives, and until Tuesday, they had never been able to see Cuban rafters arriving firsthand. "It's pretty exciting for them because their lives changed once they stepped in here," said young onlooker Nicholas Plihal.
The migrants were taken to the Dania Beach Border Control Processing Center. Officials said those who have families in the U.S. were released to their relatives. Those who do not will also be allowed to stay in the U.S. if everything checks out fine.
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