Cubans attempt to drive taxi to Florida

[davepeck]

http://www.nbc6.net/news/4582393/detail.html

Pictures

Video Footage

Taxi! Cubans Hail Ride To Florida In Converted Cab
Coast Guard Intercepts Boat

POSTED: 12:00 am EDT June 8, 2005
UPDATED: 2:25 pm EDT June 8, 2005



MIAMI -- On Tuesday, the United States Coast Guard intercepted a group of Cuban refugees attempting to reach Florida on a converted vintage 1949 Mercury taxi.

Only Chopper 6 was over the scene as the drama unfolded. Relatives of those on board spoke exclusively to NBC 6 reporters, saying they\'re devastated their loved ones didn\'t make it to Florida\'s shores.

The Coast Guard first spotted the converted powder-blue vehicle about 20 miles off Key West on Tuesday evening after the group of 13 Cubans sailed their makeshift boat across the Florida Straits.

Pablo Diaz\'s son, Rafael, his wife and two children were among those intercepted at sea, failing to reach U.S. soil.

"He feels very worried and very sad," Diaz told NBC 6 reporter Sharon Lawson.

"He needed to get out of the country. He needs to get out and this was his only chance. I am sure if he goes back, it isn\'t going to be good," said Diaz\'s cousin Jesus Zamora. "They will probably put him in jail and God knows what could happen to him."

Earlier Tuesday, the Coast Guard intercepted a different boat about 10 miles from Key Largo. That vessel was carrying 22 Cuban refugees, including 4 children. On Sunday, home video showed 6 Cubans who made it to shore and walked right onto Miami Beach.

As for those in the blue taxi, Zamora said it was his cousin\'s third attempt to leave Cuba. In 2003, he was on board during an unsuccessful attempt to reach the U.S. on another unusual vessel - a 1951 Chevy pickup -- which a man named Luis Grass had converted into a boat. They were intercepted and sent back to Cuba. The Coast Guard then sunk the craft.

Early Wednesday morning, the Coast Guard sank the \'taxi\' as well.

In 2004 Grass made a second attempt to get to the United States illegally -- this time aboard a Buick sedan powering another homemade barge.

Grass and his family had more success sticking to land: on March 12 they entered the U.S. though the Texas-Mexico border and were allowed to stay.

According to U.S. policy, Cubans intercepted at sea are returned to Cuba. However, there\'s no official word yet as to what will happen in this case.

NBC 6 reporter Jeff Burnside is in Key West to continue to follow developments in this story. You can watch his reports throughout the day, beginning on South Florida Today at 10 a.m.

[Spacey]

They can\'t be that stupid. Why wouldn\'t you try this at night? Should have sunk that boat and watched them drown.

[Marcial]

They can\'t be that stupid. Why wouldn\'t you try this at night? Should have sunk that boat and watched them drown.

You can\'t be stupid enough to think that you could sail a car-sailboat 90 miles in one night, could you?

The stupid ones are all the other people who are still on the island of Cuba... at least these guys gave it a shot.  I\'d like to see how far you would get in an improvised boat of your own design.

This is not an uncommon occurence.... while I lived in Miami there were frequent reports of people fleeing cuba in all kinds of improvized boats.  People over there are desperate and will try anything to escape.

Marcial el Cubano Mendez

[Spacey]

They can\'t be that stupid. Why wouldn\'t you try this at night? Should have sunk that boat and watched them drown.

You can\'t be stupid enough to think that you could sail a car-sailboat 90 miles in one night, could you?

The stupid ones are all the other people who are still on the island of Cuba... at least these guys gave it a shot.  I\'d like to see how far you would get in an improvised boat of your own design.

This is not an uncommon occurence.... while I lived in Miami there were frequent reports of people fleeing cuba in all kinds of improvized boats.  People over there are desperate and will try anything to escape.

Marcial el Cubano Mendez

I am that stupid. Like I said before, America is not a heaven for all these refugees. They couldn\'t be STUPID enough to think they would make it in the daylight. Atleast at night you would have had a better chance. Where do these leeches end up? Back in Cuba.

What I meant was by sailing at night you wouldn\'t be that noticable. You might actually be able to reach the shore without being caught. Leaving during the day, you can be seen easier. They had the right idea. I feel that they could have given a little extra effort and left at night. They could have made a serious run at it and probably had a better shot of getting into the country ILLEGALLY. That is the bottom line. ILLEGALLY

America has enough domestic problems, why should be be given those who enter America more opportunities then the people of America. If you say that I am wrong, then why do we have homelessness, people starving? We are one of the richest countries in the world. We need to stop trying to save the world and start saving ourselves.

I stand by my statement that these fuckers are stupid and should have been shot down and watched drown. They know it is illegal, so why support it.

[skalnbyc]

They can\'t be that stupid. Why wouldn\'t you try this at night? Should have sunk that boat and watched them drown.

You can\'t be stupid enough to think that you could sail a car-sailboat 90 miles in one night, could you?


Marcial el Cubano Mendez

As some one who grew up on the ocean/worked at a yacht club for many years, I know that it takes a long time for a vessel to travel 90 miles.  It used to take us half a day (a few hours) just to sail to an island 7 miles offshore.  

Marcial, how long has your family (the Cuban side) been here?

[Marcial]

I think you\'re missing my original point there Space Cadet.  Regardless of when they left (day or night) it likely took them SEVERAL DAYS / NIGHT to make the 90 mile trip in that boat.  

All they have to do is make it to dry land (and MANY of them do in similar vessels) and they are in... i.e. not going to get sent back.  So regardless of what you may think or how it might look, they are not stupid.  I would venture to say that hundreds if not thousands of Cubans and Haitians make it over every year.

I agree that we have to look after ourselves first.  However, you must look at this through their eyes... if I was over there living in poverty, I would do anything I could to get into the states.  I\'m not saying that I agree or disagree with our policies, only that I can see why they try to cross the border, and that I would do the same thing if I was in their situation.  

I still don\'t understand why you say they are stupid?  Are they stupid for wanting a better life?  Or are they stupid because their better life is coming at your expense? Doesn\'t that make you the stupid one?

[oldnewbie]

They can\'t be that stupid. Why wouldn\'t you try this at night? Should have sunk that boat and watched them drown.

i find this even more disturbing than joe laughing at the jam cruise busts.  "watch them drown"?   your out of your fucking mind.
spacey=ignore list

[Spacey]

I think you\'re missing my original point there Space Cadet.  Regardless of when they left (day or night) it likely took them SEVERAL DAYS / NIGHT to make the 90 mile trip in that boat.  

All they have to do is make it to dry land (and MANY of them do in similar vessels) and they are in... i.e. not going to get sent back.  So regardless of what you may think or how it might look, they are not stupid.  I would venture to say that hundreds if not thousands of Cubans and Haitians make it over every year.

I agree that we have to look after ourselves first.  However, you must look at this through their eyes... if I was over there living in poverty, I would do anything I could to get into the states.  I\'m not saying that I agree or disagree with our policies, only that I can see why they try to cross the border, and that I would do the same thing if I was in their situation.  

I still don\'t understand why you say they are stupid?  Are they stupid for wanting a better life?  Or are they stupid because their better life is coming at your expense? Doesn\'t that make you the stupid one?

Marcial,

Point well taken, I agree with you on most of these points. I have no rebuttal for the stupid comment. I understood you original post and just wanted to drag it out. No harm intended, just wanted a little controversy.

They can\'t be that stupid. Why wouldn\'t you try this at night? Should have sunk that boat and watched them drown.

i find this even more disturbing than joe laughing at the jam cruise busts.  "watch them drown"?   your out of your fucking mind.
spacey=ignore list

Why I am even replying to this is beyond me, considering I am on your ignore list. 1) Don compare me to Joe 2) Could care less about being on your ignore list. To each their own. We all have opinions and you have the right to ignore what you want. I applaude you for that.

[kindm's]

Spacey I guess from your above comments your family has been here since the mayflower landed. I guess your family didnt immigrate to this country illegally or not perhaps.

The US policy towards Cuban refugees is that if they make it to US soil they can stay if they get turned back in the waters they have to go back to Cuba. Cuba is only 90 miles off the US coast and many people from Cuba modify cars to make boats to try and make it here. There have been several articles like this 1 in the past year. They modify cars and the like becasue the Cuban Gov. has a huge lock down on private and commerical boats to prevent folks from leaving.

Haitians I don\'t believe are as lucky. they dont have the clause that says that if they make it here they cant be sent back.

The whole US / Cuban policy is stupid

[davepeck]

update..

4 Cubans on Taxi-Boat May Stay in U.S.

Thursday June 9, 2005 8:16 PM

By CURT ANDERSON

Associated Press Writer

MIAMI (AP) - Four of the 14 Cubans intercepted at sea aboard a vintage taxi converted into a boat will be allowed to stay in the United States because they have valid immigration documents, but the others will be sent back to Cuba, U.S. officials said Thursday.

Rafael Diaz Rey, the mechanic who built the blue, 1948 Mercury taxi-boat, and his wife and their two children appear to have legitimate documents that would permit them to stay in this country, according to the U.S. attorney\'s office in Miami.

An attorney for Democracy Movement, a Cuban exile group in Miami, said Diaz and his family last year won the documents in an annual lottery in Cuba for legal travel to the United States. But the communist government of President Fidel Castro refused to let the family leave, said attorney Wilfredo Allen.

``They had to act before the documents expired,\'\' Allen said.

After interviewing the remaining 10 migrants, Homeland Security Department officials concluded they have no reasonable fear of being persecuted or tortured if they are repatriated to Cuba, according to documents filed in federal court.

Lawyers representing the Cubans, who were intercepted Tuesday about 14 miles south of Key West, have asked District Judge K. Michael Moore to intervene and allow the entire group to stay. Moore did not immediately issue a ruling.

Under the U.S. ``wet foot-dry foot\'\' policy, Cubans intercepted at sea are generally returned to Cuba and those who make it to U.S. soil are usually allowed to stay.

Family members said Diaz was making his third attempt to reach the United States aboard a car converted into a boat.

In 2004, they said he was intercepted on a Buick sedan powering a barge and a decade earlier had to turn back because of electrical problems in a 1947 Buick.

Details about how the latest car-boat operated were not known. It was outfitted with a prow on the front that allowed it to cut through waves. Previous car-boats from Cuba have been powered by a propeller attached to the drive shaft.

Under U.S. policy, the car-boats are sunk at sea after being intercepted.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5063472,00.html

[Spacey]

As American as they come. 5 Generations make you a full blooded American according to research. 5 generations born in raised in a land "makes you get rid of your foreign blood" or so they say. But your statement about coming over from the Mayflower really doesn\'t make sense because they really showed up and stole the land from the Red Man, which I guess is illegal. Truthfully, we are all immigrants of some way or another unless we are Native American. The white man just happened to push the Indians farther west and created laws to make their doings right. Listen, I\'ll stop make these crazy statement, just understand my opinions are a little whacky, well, a lot whacky.

[Marcial]

No harm taken... I like a little controversy myself.

And Mike, you are correct... the wet foot / dry foot policy does not apply to Haitians because they are not a communist country.  They are fleeing for economic reasons, not "political" reasons.

Al,

My grandparents (on dad\'s side) came here when my dad was 2 (in 1947) well before Castro took power (sometime in the 1960\'s).  Back then it was still legal to travel back & forth, and I don\'t think my grandparents & dad had anymore trouble coming over than any other immigrants did back then.  

My mom is 1/2 cuban, 1/4 spanish, 1/4 italian, but both of her parents were born here.

[Spacey]

Marcial,

Good conversation, Thanks I needed it. Been going crazy, seem to be coming back to reality.

I think the question is, How do you fit 14 people in that car/boat?

[Todd]

14 in that big boat is nothing. Had 12 in my Honda Accord hatchback once. Plus at least two were kids.

[Spacey]

14 in that big boat is nothing. Had 12 in my Honda Accord hatchback once. Plus at least two were kids.

That boat doesn\'t look all that big.

12 in a honda accord is a feat, I\'ll give you that.

Were you ever in the circus?