Alleged smugglers also are detained

 BY CHARLES RABIN

 A group of 29 Cuban migrants and two alleged smugglers en route to Florida traveled to within 17 miles of the U.S. shoreline early Friday when their 31-foot speedboat ran out of gas.

 Stranded almost directly east of Cape Florida, the group set off flares that were spotted by a fisherman at 7 a.m. Within two hours, U.S. Coast Guard rescue boats from Miami and Fort Lauderdale were towing the speedboat to calmer waters to meet the Coast Guard cutters Baranof and Venturous.

 By Friday afternoon, 17 men, 12 women, one boy and one girl were all in good condition aboard the Venturous, which by that time was six miles east of Haulover Beach in Miami-Dade County, thanks in part to the strength of the Florida Straits.

 Eight-foot waves pounded the sides of the boats as refugees, clad in life jackets, boarded the cutters. Aerial cameras showed the migrants reaching out for the hands of the Coast Guard officers aboard the Venturous, then making the dangerous leap to the boat as it rocked back and forth.

 ``It was too choppy to transfer them to the boat at first, that's why we towed it in,'' said Coast Guard spokeswoman Anastasia Burns.

 Authorities were reluctant to say when the group left Cuba or from where it left, saying it could imperil an investigation.

 ``I can't give that information because it could be a smuggling case,'' Burns said.

 As close as the group got to Florida's shores, it's possible none of the migrants will ever call it home.

 By Friday evening, Immigration and Naturalization Service agents were aboard the Venturous interviewing the group. The interviews are being conducted at sea because of the 1995 ``wet foot/dry foot'' policy, which calls for the return to the island of Cubans found at sea, but almost guarantees them asylum should they touch shore in the United States.

 ``[This group] will remain on the boat until their disposition is decided,'' Burns said. ``They're probably going to be out there all night.''

 ``Everyone has the right to interview for asylum,'' said Rodney Germain, the INS spokesman in Miami.

 On the other hand, if the United States decides to prosecute the alleged smugglers, witnesses would be needed. Therefore, some on the boat could be given approval to come ashore.

 ``Generally, I would have to say yes, that sounds about right,'' Germain said.

 If the Cubans are to be repatriated, the 110-foot Venturous would ferry them to Guantanamo Bay, where they would be handed over to Cuban authorities.

 The go-fast boat in which they were found, a relatively new, blue-and-white model with twin outboard engines and a blue Bimini top, was towed to the Miami Beach Coast Guard station.

 It was then seized by U.S. Border Patrol agents for investigation.

 That investigation could lead them to a prize catch: two smugglers, who likely charged the Cubans thousands of dollars to help them land their dream of coming to the United States.

 ``The initial report is that there are two smugglers,'' said Joe Mellia, assistant chief patrol agent for the Border Patrol. ``It fits the profile.''

 But prosecuting smugglers is often a difficult task because many who make it to the Unites States from Cuba are reluctant to cooperate with officials.

 According to the Coast Guard's Web page, the 31 interdicted at sea Friday brings the number of Cubans intercepted before reaching shore this year to 808.

 Last month, 30 Cubans set off from the northern coast town of Bahia Honda and were presumably lost at sea.

 The Coast Guard found a boat matching the description of the vessel that was believed to have made the voyage -- capsized.

                                    © 2001