MIAMI – Seven Cuban migrants, all with gunshot wounds, were stopped at sea and taken to South Florida hospitals.
According to the Keynoter, the wounded Cubans were found Saturday afternoon.
READ MORE: 9 Cuban migrants dead, 18 rescued off Florida coast
The U.S. Coast Guard District 7 public affairs office told the newspaper the wounded were on a makeshift raft with another 19 migrants without injuries
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The ones not needing medical attention will likely be repatriated. The injured were taken to Lower Keys Medical Center on Stock Island. Six were airlifted out to Miami trauma centres.
Earlier this year, authorities said Cuban migrants desperate to reach U.S. shore are increasingly violent and noncompliant with Coast Guard crews who detain them at sea, citing reports of attempted poisoning and self-inflicted wounds as rumours swirl that the “wet-foot, dry-foot” policy will soon be abandoned.