Refugees Claim They Paid Bribe

Dwight Scot

Monday, July 19, 2004

According to an article that appeared in The Washington Post last Friday, Cuban refugees that landed in the Cayman Islands in early May, claimed they bribed their way to freedom after being incarcerated for 28 days.

The article, written in La Ceiba, Honduras, by Washington Post Foreign Service correspondent Mary Jordon, told the tale of nine Cubans who left that country on a small open boat on 3 May, and eventually found refuge in the Central American country. 

On their way to Honduras one of the refugees, Luis Machado, said their boat’s engine failed and smashed against rocks on the shore of the Cayman Islands. They were arrested and “locked up with murderers for a month,” the article said.

After a few days in jail, Mr Machado said relatives from Spain and the US arrived in Cayman, and that one of the men was then freed and allowed to fly to Spain. 

Mr Machado also said the American relatives paid bribes to get the other eight men freed after 28 days in jail.

“It was a miracle,” he said. “We had seconds notice that we were leaving. We just ran out of jail.”

After being set free, Mr Machado said the American relatives paid $10,000 to “smugglers” to take the men to Honduras. When close to the coast, he said the smugglers told them to swim for half an hour to shore, even though his nephew, who was with him, did not know how to swim.

Director of Prisons Dwight Scott told Cayman Net News that incarcerated refugees come under the responsibility of the Immigration Department. He said refugees are signed over and released to the Immigration Department, upon receipt of the proper paperwork. “It’s all on paper,” he said. 

When contacted, the Immigration Department deferred to Government Information Services (GIS). Late Friday afternoon, GIS issued a statement on the report, stating: “The Cayman Islands Government is aware of The Washington Post article, titled A Risky Route to Freedom, which was published Friday, 16 July 2004.” 

“At this time, government reserves its comments concerning the article, as it is looking into the matter.”

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