Desperate, more and more Cubans are trying by all means to reach the United States, in what appears to be the largest wave of migration in history from the Caribbean island.

Since December 1, 2021, the American authorities estimate to have carried out more than 270,000 arrests of Cubans trying to enter the United States illegally, or nearly 2.5% of the population of the island.

The number of attempts is much higher than the previous big waves: that of Mariel in 1980, which had seen 125,000 people attempt the crossing, and the crisis of the "Balseros" (or boat people) of 1994, with around 34,000 people, underlines Jorge Duany , director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University.

Go through Nicaragua, less dangerous but more expensive

Rather than the 150 kilometer crossing by boat, some Cubans begin their odyssey with a flight to Nicaragua, an ally of the Cuban regime to which visas are not required and which has become the first leg of the trip to the United States for the majority of Cubans taking the road to exile.

Afterwards, these exiles, through networks of smugglers, go back to the United States at high prices.

For example, David Gonzalez, a Cuban hairdresser who crossed the American border via Nicaragua, paid 7,000 dollars for his trip: 3,500 for the flight then as much to pay the smugglers who brought him to the United States.

A significant sum when the average Cuban monthly salary is 3,768 pesos, or about 157 dollars.



For two months, 3,724 boats have been intercepted

Those who cannot afford to go through Nicaragua attempt the crossing between Cuba and Florida, aboard precarious boats.

On Christmas Day, the US Coast Guard intercepted about fifteen small ships near the Keys archipelago, in the far south of Florida, where dozens of people dock every week.

Since October 1, 3,724 boats have been intercepted in this way, i.e. around half of the boats boarded between October 2021 and October 2022. Not to mention those which disappear at sea. In April, a boat with 14 people on board overturned, only five of its occupants managed to reach the Cuban coast by swimming.

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