People who bring illegally people from Mexico into the United Status are popularly known as “coyotes.” What then should we call those who illegally bring Cubans from the island, crossing the sea through the Florida Straits toward Miami? Sharks?
But whatever we call them, these “sharks” are getting theirs, not exactly by devouring people, but by getting large amounts of money out of Cubans who want to come to the United States, with the advantage that once they touch U.S. soil, according to the law, they are declared refugees. In one year they can solicit their residency.
To achieve their purposes, “sharks” cross the seas in powerful modern boats and even by plane. How has this happened? The growing demand for these human traffickers, who are becoming increasingly sophisticated, they can charge up to $20,000 per person, an enormous sum for any Cuban, but one that is possible to pay with the help of families in the United States.
In the streets of Miami, people’s attitudes about these traffickers are far from negative. Rather, they tell stories, often with strange details and humor, according to the newspaper, Clarín.
“It’s illegal, but it’s a million dollar business that generates jobs and contributes to family reunification,” Pedro Sánchez commented to a press agency while he drank coffee in the well-known Versailles restaurant.
It’s true, the dangerous “primitive” rafts are a thing of the past, as are the original voyages that converted trucks into extraordinary boats or tried to make horses float. In the counties of larger Miami, like Hialeah, it is common knowledge how much it costs to bring relatives from the island.
“Well, prices have gone up. Before, it cost $8,000 per person, and now you have to pay $12,000 if he’s coming by boat and $20,000 if it’s through another country,” explained Humberto Casas, who sells water in Hialeah.
According to U.S. law, Cubans who reach American soil can stay in the country; those intercepted on the sea have to return to Cuba.
Jorge and Rafael, who arrived in the United States through Bolivia, explained that they got fake passports in La Paz, bought a plane ticket to the Dominican Republic with a stopover in Miami, hid in a bathroom, destroyed their travel documents, and presented themselves to immigration agents.
Later they presented their birth certificates, received work visas, residency, and in five year they can begin the process to become U.S. citizens.
In contrast to immigrants from other countries, a law known in Spanish as the Ley de Ajuste Cubano [The Cuban Adjustment Act (1966)], was established more than 40 years ago, permitting Cubans to obtain residency within a year and a day of touching American soil, and to become citizens five years later.
Other immigrants must become residents first – something that takes many years – and after obtaining the “green card,” they must wait five years to apply for citizenship. On average, becoming a citizen is a process that for most people can take 10, 15, or 20 years, while for Cubans it takes five.
Miguel Tirado, 21, arrived in the United States only a few months ago. His trip was “cheap,” but it was still a complicated adventure. He left Cuba with a letter of invitation from a friend to visit him in Germany. From there he traveled to Spain, and from Madrid, he “returned” to Cuba by plane, with a stopover in Mexico, where he stayed. He traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border and crossed it, but not before his Mexican traffickers robbed him of all of his valuables, including his Cuban passport. They also demanded that he call his family in Miami so that they would send $1,500.
Finally, he was allowed to go after handing over his last valuable, a simple Seiko watch. He crossed the border, said that he was Cuban, and in a few hours he was on a bus to Miami. Others go through Venezuela, Peru, Colombia or the Dominican Republic. They stay in guest houses there, and when it’s time to travel to Mexico or to board the boat, they embark on the final part of their journey.
