TERE FIGUERAS
 

 Twenty-eight Cuban migrants landed in Marathon early Sunday -- the third time in
 two weeks that a large group of Cubans has been picked up in the Keys.

 ``They were basically just walking down the street when Monroe County Sheriff's
 Office picked them up,'' U.S. Border Patrol Agent Mike McClarnon said.

 The Cubans -- 16 men, seven women, two boys and three girls -- were found near
 mile marker 57 at about 5:20 a.m. and turned over to officials from the U.S.
 Immigration and Naturalization Service, said sheriff's office spokeswoman Becky
 Herrin.

 It was unclear how the Cubans arrived in Marathon, said INS spokesman Rodney
 Germain.

 ``They were not taken off a vessel, and as far as we know, there was no vessel
 around at the time,'' Germain said. ``Smuggling is always a possibility. But we
 don't have any specifics on the case yet.''

 The 28 Cubans were in good condition and are being processed at the Krome
 Detention Center, Germain said.

 The Monroe County Sheriff's Office found another group of 28 Cubans -- 10 men,
 10 women and eight children -- in Marathon on March 4. The refugees told officials
 they had been smuggled into the United States.

 Twenty Cubans -- 15 men, three women and two children -- were found swimming
 in the water near Port Jefferson at Dry Tortugas National Park on March 1.
 Despite their account that they arrived on makeshift rafts, officials believe they
 were smuggled in as well. No raft was found.

 In all, 85 Cubans have been picked up this month in the Keys.

 Germain would not say whether the arrivals herald a sharp increase in illegal
 Cuban migration.

 ``Cubans try to get here anyway that they possibly can,'' he said. ``To attribute it
 to a specific trend is pure speculation.''
 

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald