The authorities of Cancún, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, are investigating whether the 12 Cuban rafters arrested this Monday, including four women and eight men, are related to the coyote network that operated under the command of the Cuban Mafia since 2009 in the region. “The raft was located when it was approaching Chac Mool beach and from the moment they disembarked they ran towards Kukulcán boulevard,” he tells 14 intervene Officer Jacinto Pech May.
The agent assures that the migrants were guided by at least three people who managed to escape. “At least six people fled, including three who showed them the route they should follow, but most of them were intercepted on the boulevard.”
Despite the fact that several members of the Cuban Mafia are pursuing judicial proceedings in the United States, Pech May does not rule out that “groups of coyotes who had links with this criminal network are operating on their own and transporting Cubans clandestinely.” However, those detained only accepted that they entered the country illegally.
According to the investigations, the Cuban Mafia, through Maikel Antonio Hechavarría Reyes and Mónica Susana Castillo, was in charge of hooking Cubans and in Mexican territory these people were subjected to threats and extortion.
According to the investigations, the Cuban Mafia, through Maikel Antonio Hechavarría Reyes and Mónica Susana Castillo, was in charge of hooking Cubans and in Mexican territory these people were subjected to threats and extortion.
In September of last year, a fisherman pointed out Cancun as one of the routes that coyotes and rafters use to escape from the Island. “We are unsociable and if we commit it, we are not going to confess the sin,” Javier Robles told this newspaper in reference to fishermen who transport migrants clandestinely.
Illegal departures occurred, before the pandemic, from Pinar del Río, which is 220 miles from Cancún and 211 miles from Isla Mujeres, two of the points marked by the authorities for rescues of Cubans at sea and arrests. The coyotes charge around $7,000 for this transfer.
Pech May accepts that last year several arrivals were recorded, but in 2023, the “rescues” of migrants have been recorded by land when “they are intercepted by the National Guard and Immigration agents on their journey in buses.”
Regarding the rafters, the officer mentioned that after verifying that the migrants were in good condition, they were handed over to the National Migration Institute (INM). “Their situation will depend on the authorities, for our part, there is no crime.”
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