GEORGE TOWN -- This three-island British territory 125 miles southwest of
Cuba has signed a repatriation agreement with Havana, Acting Gov. James
Ryan announced this week. He said the agreement was signed April 15.

All Cuban citizens who arrive illegally can be returned to Cuba under the
agreement, unless political asylum is granted. Previously, repatriations had to
be negotiated with Havana on a case-by-case basis.

The Caymans becomes the fourth of Cuba's neighbors to have such an
agreement, along with the Bahamas, the United States and Jamaica.

The agreement grew out of a 1994 exodus from Cuba that saw nearly 1,200
would-be refugees arriving in the Caymans, costing the Cayman government
about $10 million.