Six Cuban migrants found in the water off Key West suffering from gunshot wounds will likely be able to stay in the United States, according to the Coast Guard.
A seventh migrant was also injured by gunfire but didn't need to be hospitalized. The injured migrants were traveling with 19 others who were not wounded. They were taken to local hospitals after they were found Saturday afternoon, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The 20 uninjured migrants will most likely be returned to Cuba, the Coast Guard said.
One of the men, Yassier Cabrera, was reunited with his family in Miami Gardens Sunday. He said it was his seventh time trying to make the journey to the United States.
"It was always my dream," Cabrera told NBC 6 in Spanish Sunday.
On Monday, husband and wife Denny Rumbaut and Yarelys Rios answered questions about their risky journey.
The couple said seconds before boarding a raft in Matanzas, Cuba, people started shooting at them to steal their vessel.
"Even though we were injured, we decided to keep going, we boarded the raft, and then decided to at least make it to American waters so the Coast Guard could render aid," Rumbaut said.
Rios, who is 16 weeks pregnant, said she was very nervous but decided to continue. She said they survived many hours at sea by holding shirts over the wounds.
Officials said the group was traveling on a makeshift raft.
In a statement, the Coast Guard warned against making such an "extremely dangerous" journey that "could lead to loss of life."
"U.S. Coast Guard works hard to ensure the safety of migrants on our cutters after an interdiction and strongly discourages attempts to illegally enter the country by taking to the sea," the statement said.
Local
Earlier this year, authorities said Cuban migrants desperate to reach U.S. shores had become increasingly violent and noncompliant with Coast Guard crews who detained them at sea, citing reports of attempted poisoning and self-inflicted wounds amid rumors that the "wet-foot, dry-foot'' policy will soon be abandoned.
