Four people were killed while trying to leave Cuba illegally by sea and six suspects have been arrested, authorities said on Wednesday.
It is extremely rare for officials in the country to communicate such details since most crime-related information is usually kept from the public.
The four bodies were discovered on Tuesday afternoon at a property in Baracoa, in the commune of Bauta, a coastal area about 20km west of the capital Havana, according to an Cuban Ministry of the Interior statement.
“According to a preliminary investigation, the crime is linked to an attempt to illegally leave the country with help from outside,” said the statement, which was read out during a noon news show on state-run television.
It did not name the victims or six individuals authorities said were taken into custody in connection with the investigation.
Even if immigration reform has made it easier to travel abroad since January last year, many Cubans still try to leave the country illegally via the sea due to difficulties obtaining visas or enough money for a plane ticket.
In one such case on Wednesday, 23 Cuban migrants had to be rescued off the coast of Guatemala after a two-week voyage in rough seas left their raft badly damaged, officials said.
The 20 men and three women, who range in age from 19 to 50, departed Cuba on May 29 hoping to reach Mexico, but got caught in a storm that damaged their raft and took them off course.
They were rescued on Saturday in choppy waters by a private vessel and delivered early on Wednesday to Guatemala’s Coast Guard.
News reports said they appeared to be in good health. Guatemalan officials said they were in talks with Cuban authorities to determine what steps should be taken next regarding the rafters.
Word of the deaths and rescues comes as a group of Cuban ballet dancers defected to the US while on tour in Puerto Rico over the weekend.
Six dancers from the famed National Ballet of Cuba appeared in Miami on Tuesday and said they want to pursue careers in the US.
“The dancers defected because they need personal freedom and opportunity in their career,” said Pedro Pablo Pena, founder of the Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami. “It’s a short career. Here they’ll at least get paid more than they do in Cuba.”
It was the second major defection of Cuban ballet dancers in the US in a little more than 12 months.
At a press conference in Miami on Tuesday, the six dancers, aged between 21 and 24, said they had considered defecting for some time and had discussed the idea with friends and family.
“I thought about this for months before the tour,” said Ariel Soto Cantora, 23. “Each of us decided on our own but didn’t come with each other.”
For some it was a spur of the moment decision.
“I was thinking about it but didn’t decide until the last minute,” said Monica Gomez Bolanos, 21.
The dancers had been performing in Puerto Rico before abandoning the tour on Sunday and flying to Miami.
A seventh dancer defected, but stayed behind with friends in Puerto Rico.
Under the Cuban Adjustment Act Cuban exiles are granted special immigration privileges as well as financial benefits.
Joining the defected dances in Florida were two members of Cuba’s national tennis team who defected after Davis Cup qualifiers trip in Puerto Rico.
Ernesto Alfonso, 24, and Randy Blanco, 21, ditched the team after their matches in Humacao, Puerto Rico, according to Cafe Fuerte, a news portal focused on the Cuban-American community.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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