Carnival Cruise rescues Cuban migrants amid increased boat landings in Florida

Foreign nationals from Cuba were rescued at sea by a Carnival Cruise ship on Tuesday after appearing to be in distress.

The Cubans and the rest of the ship were returned to Port Miami, and they traveled on with the U.S. Coast Guard to an area in Key West currently processing a huge influx of illegal immigrants, largely from Cuba and Haiti.

Matt Lupoli, senior manager of public relations for Carnival Cruise, told The Center Square the details surrounding the rescue:

“The crew on board Carnival Celebration spotted five people in distress on a small vessel 25 nautical miles northwest of Cuba Monday and, as is customary, stopped to help them. After rescuing the five people adrift at sea, the ship’s crew coordinated with United States Coast Guard officials and rendezvoused with them near Key West, Fla. The ship resumed on its voyage with its scheduled itinerary unaffected and Carnival Celebration returned to Miami on Tuesday morning after a week-long Caribbean cruise.”

On Jan. 1, the National Park Service announced that Dry Tortugas National Park in Key West was to be closed temporarily because the space was needed to process newly arrived migrants who had made the journey in small boats, as The Center Square previously reported.

“Dry Tortugas National Park will temporarily close to public access while law enforcement and medical personnel evaluate, provide care for and coordinate transport to Key West for approximately 300 migrants who arrived in the park over the past couple of days,” the park service said.

“The closure, which is expected to last several days, is necessary for the safety of visitors and staff because of the resources and space needed to attend to the migrants. Concession-operated ferry and seaplane services are temporarily suspended.”

The National Park Service added that vessels could find safe harbor around Garden Key and Bird Key Harbor, and that emergency services would be limited because of the landings.

“Like elsewhere in the Florida Keys, the park has recently seen an increase in people arriving by boat from Cuba and landing on the islands of Dry Tortugas National Park. Park first responders provide food, water and basic medical attention until the Department of Homeland Security arrives and takes the lead,” the press release said.

Over 100 migrants from Haiti have also landed on American shores in Key West, according to a tweet from Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar, who wrote:

“Yesterday, #BorderPatrol agents with support from @HSTF_Southeast encountered over 130 #Haitian migrants in Key Largo #Florida. The migrants arrived on an overloaded sailing vessel and were packed in the lower deck. These voyages are dangerous and potentially deadly.”

During an interview with Local 10 News, Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay said that local, state and federal resources are starting to become far too stretched because of the constant migrant landings.

“We feel bad for people in foreign countries who wish they could be here, but we are overwhelmed,” he said. “I hate to get politics involved but this is man-made, this is a man-made crisis.”