Six wounded Cuban migrants who were rescued off the coast of Key West on Saturday have been accused of shooting themselves in a desperate bid to be granted asylum in the US.
The rafters, including a woman who is 16 weeks pregnant, were all taken to South Florida hospitals to be treated, while everyone else on the 26-strong boat was taken to border control be deported.
One who was shot in the foot was treated before joining the group set for deportation.
Now, the remaining wounded six are desperately trying to defend themselves against claims they inflicted their own gunshot wounds – which astoundingly missed all vital organs and arteries.
They claim they were targeted by Cuban gunmen at sea then sailed into American waters to seek help.
‘That [to intentionally shoot yourself] would have been something very hard,’ 16-weeks-pregnant Yarelys Rios, 37, told a press conference reported by the WSVN.
Both Rios and her husband Denny Rumbaut were shot in the right side between the ribs and the hip.
‘I am pregnant and I’m not going to risk my baby to come to a country that, yes, where I want to be, but not that way.’
She added: ‘I know that in American waters there are several boats that can assist you and at that moment I could not go back not knowing who were the people shooting at us and what could happen.’
Rios and her husband addressed reporters with two other wounded migrants on Monday, during which they each flashed their scars.
One of them, Jorge Luis Escalona, has an identical wound to Rios and Rumbaut, WSVN reported.
The other, Yaser Cabrera, was hit between the ribs and hip on his left side, slightly closer to his stomach.
Another, not identified, was shot in the shoulder.
Rumbaut gave his version of events in Spanish: ‘Some people came out of the woods, armed, trying to steal our raft. We refused.’
He said gunfire ensued and they headed towards Key West, where they were eventually intercepted.
In a statement on Saturday the US Coast Guard said: ‘The U.S. Coast Guard interdicted 26 Cuban migrants aboard a make-shift raft south of Key West, Florida Saturday afternoon.
‘Seven of the 26 migrants had gunshot wounds sustained prior to the interdiction.
‘The most critical, six, were medevaced to a local area hospital.
‘The remaining 20 migrants will likely be returned to their country of origin.
‘The U.S. Coast Guard works hard to ensure the safety of migrants on our cutters after an interdiction and strongly discourages attempts to illegally enter the country by taking to the sea.
‘These trips are extremely dangerous and could lead to loss of life.’
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 rumors swirl that the ‘wet-foot, dry-foot’ policy will soon be abandoned.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3514390/Cuban-migrants-rescued-raft-Florida-accused-shooting-desperate-bid-granted-asylum.html#ixzz44PDx9yUG
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