GOLDEN BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) — Two separate groups of Cuban migrants landed in Golden Beach and the Florida Keys, prompting federal authorities to take 16 people into custody.
United States Border Patrol agents and Golden Beach Police units responded to reports regarding six migrants landing ashore in the area of Ocean Boulevard, near Palermo Avenue, at around 9 a.m., Sunday.
Authorities said the migrants told them they spent more than a week at sea, and their homemade vessel capsized as they approached the Golden Beach shoreline.
The men swam to shore, where they were met by Border Patrol agents and police officers.
Hours earlier, at around 2:30 a.m., 10 migrants made landfall in an unspecified part of the Florida Keys, according to a tweet from Customs and Border Protection Chief Patrol Agent Walter Slosar.
Border Patrol agents said the migrants who arrived in the Florida Keys were smuggled.
In Golden Beach, law enforcement rendered aid to the migrants until they were taken into federal custody. They were also given food and towels.
No injuries were reported.
As of Sunday afternoon, the migrants remain in custody. They will be processed for removal proceedings.
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