Julio Ibarra, the only Cuban rafter to survive a December shipwreck near Florida in December 2022has revealed more details about the journey in which another 9 West Indians lost their lives.
During an interview with the local media america teavethe rafter indicated that they capsized near Palm Beach, and that he himself saw several of the boat’s crew die.
“I saw one die in front of me who had a panic attack. My friend got lost in the sea after I swam with him on my shoulders for almost four kilometers,” said Ibarra, who is free in the city of Miami after being processed by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service of USA (ICE).
Ibarra stressed that a person aboard a catamaran saw him at sea, but he ignored him.
“I ran into a man who was on his catamaran, I asked him for help and when I yelled for help the man just turned his back and continued on his way. I already felt that he was dying to me at that moment, ”he declared.
The Cuban points out that he spent eight days adrift, during which time he lost around 13 kilos, for which he thought he was going to die at sea.
She indicated that the only thing that gave her the strength to continue was thinking about her children, and the desire she had to see them again.
Luckily for Ibarra, he was rescued on December 18 by a Good Samaritan who took him to West Palm, where he was admitted to a hospital due to severe dehydration and sunburn.
When asked about the new immigration policies announced by Biden, which promise to make irregular migration more difficult, the Cuban says he understands why they do it, but also maintains that the US government should give people who want to escape a chance. of the island.
“I don’t know where that law is going, what they are going to do, but they should give people a chance,” he said.
And it is that the US authorities indicated that Cubans and Haitians who are detained trying to enter the US by sea will be returned to their countries immediately, something for which the deportation flights to Cuba were resumed.
Similarly, they warned that these people will not be able to register in the humanitarian parole program for a period of up to five years.
