On Friday, 8 December, Government reported that fifteen male Cuban migrants, including one that previously landed in the Islands in June this year, arrived early Thursday morning, 7 December, at South Side, Cayman Brac, in a sixteen foot Fibreglass boat.

On the same day, The Independent, a daily British newspaper, quoted senior Western diplomatic sources on 8 December that the ailing Cuban President Fidel Castro is battling terminal cancer and could be dead by Christmas.

Observers close to the Cuban regime have reported that the leader is suffering from an aggressive form of stomach cancer and has refused radiation therapy or any other form of treatment.

Donovan Ebanks, Deputy Chief Secretary, Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs, was asked if there was any reason to believe that, if Castro died, there might be a surge in the arrivals of Cuban migrants.

Mr Ebanks replied, “I’m sure there are reasons to believe that (might happen), as there are reasons to believe the inverse.”

Mr Ebanks confirmed that there were contingency plans for a sudden influx of refugees (Cuban or Haitian) to the Cayman Islands.

He noted, “Obviously it’s a multi-agency arrangement and very dependent on the numbers that are involved.” However, he declined to elaborate further.

During the last mass migration of Cuban refugees in 1994, in which 40,000 rafters headed for the Florida coast, a number ended up in the Cayman Islands, most of them landing in Cayman Brac.

Almost 1,200 were interned in 1994 for up to a year in a refugee camp on Grand Cayman known locally as “Tent City.”

At times in 1994, the numbers of rafters on Cayman Brac equalled the permanent residents. In total, more than 2,000 Cubans passed through these Islands from 1993 to 1995.

One Cuban Caymanian, who has lived on Grand Cayman for twenty years, told Cayman Net News he believes that Cubans will continue to leave Cuba if they can, despite Castro’s illness.

“Nobody knows what’s going to happen (when Castro dies).

Things could get worse or could get better,” he said.

Nine of the migrants that arrived Thursday continued their journey unassisted, shortly after being advised of current Immigration policies, according to Immigration officials.

Government policy, introduced in January 2005, states that migrants encountered in Cayman’s territorial waters or who come ashore any of the three Islands are refused permission to land and are not given assistance to enable them to continue their journey.

Those able to depart immediately and wishing to do so are allowed to leave. Otherwise they are detained and repatriated to Cuba.

The remaining six in the group were said to have requested to be repatriated. After a night on the Brac, they were transported at 1:10 pm on a flight to Grand Cayman for processing.

The latest group of Cubans to arrive came a day after a vessel carrying twenty-five male Cubans reached the Brac, bringing the total number of migrants landing on or passing through the Cayman Islands since the beginning of October to eighty-six.

nicky@caymannetnews.com