A group of migrants landed their makeshift sailboat on a busy strip of beach in Miami on Tuesday afternoon and were promptly taken into custody, according to local media.
The group, which included 11 men, one woman and a dog, was photographed by beach-goers shortly after they landed. One of them wore an American flag around his shoulders. Others smiled for the cameras.
@VivianGonzalez7 Video of the Cuban immigrants and the boat on the shore. pic.twitter.com/0hwRrf1xHi— Xam I Am (@tobiasmax3000) September 15, 2015
The boat was packed full of empty water jugs and soiled clothes. Many witnesses said they came from Cuba.
@VivianGonzalez7 12 #Cuban immigrants and one dog landed in #SouthBeach around 18th St. pic.twitter.com/rXGXaqvabm— Xam I Am (@tobiasmax3000) September 15, 2015
They made it! Our VIP's of the day A photo posted by Christophe Baraton (@cbaraton) on Sep 15, 2015 at 9:32am PDT
The migrants had been at sea for six days, according to one witness who said she was sunbathing when the boat made landfall.
Estaba tomando sol y llego un barco con 12 personas que naufrago 6 dias desde CUBA. No tengo palabras. A photo posted by Isolina Lopez Rivarola (@isolinatutu) on Sep 15, 2015 at 9:10am PDT
The Coast Guard frequently intercepts groups of Cuban migrants trying to make it ashore in the U.S. The agency said last week that it had repatriated more than 4,000 Cubans back to Cuba so far in 2015.
#happening now Coast Guard repatriates 52 Cuban migrants back to Cuba bringing FY15 total to 4,084 Cubans pic.twitter.com/m0MsXIHgMU— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) September 9, 2015