The six had meant to land in Mexico; hurricanes left them at sea 2 months

By Mike Baird and Icess Fernandez Caller-Times

After two months at sea in a 30-foot boat that finally ended when they washed up on Mustang Island late Wednesday, five of six Cuban nationals were released Thursday, federal officials said.

Two of the Cubans were released to family members from Dallas, and three were placed on a bus to see relatives in Miami.
 
The sixth, Magali Arojo, a 58-year-old woman, was listed in stable condition at Christus Spohn Hospital Memorial on Thursday.

"Originally the Cubans were to be transferred to the U.S. Customs facility in Port Isabel," Felix Cantu, a Corpus Christi Border Patrol agent, said. "Initially, we were going to process them to go to camp, but we received a late note that they were not able to fit. So we redid the paperwork and they were released."

The Cuban are due for their immigration hearing in Harlingen in a couple of months, Cantu said. Although Cubans who make it to the sand of Florida usually are assured of asylum, the rule has never been tested in Texas.

The trip started June 25 from Manzanillo, a small coastal town in southern Cuba, Cantu said. He said they left Cuba in a raft and purchased the boat, two 55-gallon drums of fuel and one of water in the Cayman Islands five days later.

Their destination was Isla Cozumel, Mexico, but they probably were blown off course by Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley in mid-August, Cantu said. He said they were planning to get from Cozumel to the mainland, then walk all the way through Mexico and into the U.S.

Clothing, hygiene products, dried fish, and two of the 55-gallon drums were found on the boat after it came ashore about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, said police Sgt. John C. Hooper.

A life raft, a phone book and an Aug. 14 issue of the Caller-Times also were found on the boat. Police said they suspected those items came from an oil rig.

Arojo and Miguel Diaz, age unknown, were found parched and exhausted Wednesday night near the boat at mile marker 74, near the Mayan Princess Condominium.

The other four Cubans were walking along the beach toward Port Aransas, said Capt. John Moseley, executive officer in charge of Corpus Christi police investigations.

The Border Patrol was notified when Arojo and Diaz, along with Rolando Perez, 38, Beidel Perez, 27, Orlando Pupo, 37, and Aldo Diaz, 35, were taken to Christus Spohn Memorial, Moseley said.

Police initially said the group had been at sea for 11 days, but border patrol agents learned after interviewing them that they had been at sea for two months.

There was confusion at first about who should take custody of the Cuban nationals, and police said Border Patrol agents initially would not take them.

"They refused to take custody of the people, saying they didn't know if they were from Cuba or Mexico," Moseley said. Border Patrol is responsible for Mexican immigrants and U.S. Customs is responsible for Cuban refugees, he said.

Cantu said Border Patrol officials told police if the people needed medical treatment, agents would interview them afterward. However, the Border Patrol wasn't informed when the five men were discharged from the hospital early Thursday, he said, so agents then went looking for them.

"Usually the hospital gives us a courtesy call when releasing people," Cantu said, "but in this case they didn't. The hospital cuts them loose, and they're free to go. We found them at the bus station."

Hospital officials were notified to contact border agents when Arojo is released.

Border Patrol agents are checking databases to see whether the Cuban nationals have criminal histories or terrorist ties, Cantu said. Paperwork is being processed and they were taken to a U.S. Customs detention center in Port Isabel, where they will go before an immigration judge, he said.

"They're real nice people," Cantu said. "They're just hungry and tired."