Cuban Rafters Re-Enact “The Old Man And The Sea,” Except With Less Giant Marlins And More Mexican Lawyers

Cuban rafters who find themselves in Mexican waters are discovering that, unlike with Mexican police officers, paying Mexican lawyers a lot of money won’t help problems go away faster:

According to one of the Cubans who helps rafters in Cancún — he asked not to be identified because of fear of reprisals — the relatives’ ignorance of legal proceedings and their eagerness to get their relatives out of Cuba push them to send money quickly, often without need or without realizing that, in some cases, deportation to Cuba is inevitable.

Cubans have to face a version of the “wet foot, dry foot policy” in Mexico as they do in the States. So for Cubans, intercepted at sea, Mexico is a big “MexiNo.” Cue slide whistle:

Under Mexican law, Cuban refugees who are intercepted at sea must be deported to Cuba. Rafters who reach land are entitled to stay in the country for 30 days. They usually head immediately for the U.S. border.

An immigration officer in Cancún, who asked not to be identified, told El Nuevo Herald that in neither case is a lawyer needed.

Seems like these Cubans’ cases are all… washed up! Hahaha. Ha. Cough. Sigh.

Mexican lawyers leave Cuban rafters adrift [The Miami Herald]