The five Cuban detainees who escaped the Carmichael Detention Centre last week were picked up on American soil.
US authorities captured the group of Cuban men in Jupiter, Florida on Monday. Initial investigations indicate that a Bahamian smuggler assisted the Cubans in their escape from the country.
The Tribune first received information on the capture of the detainees late Monday night. Yesterday, Director of Immigration Vernon Burrows confirmed those reports.
Mr Burrows said that US officials were able to apprehend the five men around midday on Monday in the city of Jupiter. The group was then transferred to the Krome Detention Centre in Miami where they are currently being held.
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“We are now in talks with the authorities in the US to determine the fate of the detainees,” he said.
Mr Burrows explained that there is a possibility of the Cubans being returned to the Bahamas.
“However, the US have their own policies. Maybe they will send them back to us, maybe they will keep them at their detention centre, maybe they will set them free, give them some sort of status.
“They have their wet foot, dry foot policy. It may be that the US decides to apply their dry foot policy in thls case,” he said.
Under the wet foot, dry foot policy, Cubans who have managed to gain entry into the US are given the opportunity to pursue residency a year after their arrival in the country.
Although investigations into Thursday’s escape are continuing, the immigration director said that a Bahamian is suspected to have transported the men out of the country.
“It looks like a Bahamian smuggler got them out of that country for a fee, which we believe was paid by some of their relatives in the US,” he said.
According to officials, the group of Cuban men, who fled the Carmichael Road centre by cutting through a fence, were thought to be part be an even larger escape attempt. Officials at the centre observed that there were numerous gaps cut into the perimeter fencing.
It is thought the Cubans were able to escape because visibility in the area in which they were being held, was obstructed by two large yellow buses parked next to the fences on the northeast side of the compound.
Thursday’s incident constitutes the third escape from the Detention Centre since April this year.
Immigration and Labour Minister Shane Gibson in past interviews said that his ministry was aggressively looking at new ways to enhance the security at the detention centre. New security initiatives slated to be implemented in the near future will include the installation of guard dogs, additional razor wire fencing, and video surveillance cameras.
However, this latest escape occurred on the same day the security cameras were to have been installed.
By KARIN HERIG Tribune Staff Reporter
