U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations (CBP AMO) published a shocking photo on Tuesday of a man, who they identified as a Cuban national, that American authorities reportedly rescued off the coast of Florida floating on what appeared to be a homemade raft large enough for only one person.
The man in the image fit on the vessel only by sitting upright and appeared to be shoeless. The vessel did not not appear large enough to carry any food, water, or other supplies, and it is unclear exactly how he remained afloat on it long enough to be rescued. CBP AMO did not offer any details on where he is believed to have departed from to arrive at the site of his rescue, nor did any information indicate whether the man had initially embarked from his point of origin on a larger raft or other floating device.
“A Cuban national is fortunate to be alive after being found alone on a small raft approximately 16 miles east of Key Biscayne, Florida, on October 12,” the statement from CBP AMO explained. “A good Samaritan reported the sighting over VHF Channel 16, our Miami and Fort Lauderdale marine units and the U.S. Coast Guard responded and located the individual and provided emergency assistance.”
The distance from Key Biscayne, Florida, to a northern point on Cuba is approximately 150 to 200 miles. As the man’s point of origin is unknown, the true length of his journey cannot be calculated.
The individual’s fate also remains unclear. The American agency noted that he received immediate first aid upon being rescued and transferred to U.S. Coast Guard custody for “further processing” – presumably full identification.
“This incident underscores the extreme danger of attempting illegal maritime migration. The open water is unforgiving, and these journeys can quickly become fatal,” CBP AMO warned.
Since being seized by a violent, communist coup d’etat in 1959, Cuba has developed a long history of balseros, or rafters, who attempt to leave the island via sea and reach freedom in America. The Cuban Communist Party restricts Cuban citizens’ international travel, allowing it only under special circumstances such as for elite athletes, slave doctors, or members of the Castro family and its associated elite. As a result, Cubans have for decades built illegal rafts out of recycled materials and attempted the journey north. Tens of thousands of Cubans are believed to have died in these attempts.
The first major wave of Cuban balseros occurred in the mid-1990s, beginning in 1994, when Fidel Castro announced that he would allow Cubans to leave the country, but only on personal vessels, which it was illegal for most Cubans to own. As a result, they had to build their own rafts to attempt the journey. This first wave resulted in thousands of Cubans reaching the U.S. mainland and establishing ethnic enclaves in new places, such as Louisville, Kentucky.
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Attempts by Cubans to escape to America persisted into the 21st century. Perhaps the most high-profile such case was that of then-six-year-old Elián González, who was rescued at sea after his mother and fellow balseros died en route north. At the time, the United States adhered to a policy known as “wet foot, dry foot,” which allowed Cubans to remain in America legally if found on dry land. As González was found floating at sea, the administration of President Bill Clinton chose to violently deport González back to Cuba to placate demands by Fidel Castro. González is now a lawmaker in Cuba’s rubber-stamp communist parliament and one of the Castro regime’s most prominent defenders.
President Barack Obama, who pursued a policy of friendship and reconciliation with the murderous Castro regime, ended “wet foot, dry foot” in 2017. At the time, Cubans attempting to reach the United States complained that Obama was “punishing” them after Cuban-Americans overwhelmingly voted for President Donald Trump in the presidential election a week prior. The end of “wet foot, dry foot” caused chaos, as migration officials began banning Cubans flying into the United States on legal tourist visas from entering the country and the imminent end of the policy prompted a surge in the number of attempted maritime voyages to America.
The Obama policy sent thousands of Cubans down to South America seeking an alternative route to the United States, enriching human traffickers who helped facilitate their travel north alongside migrants from the region. The number of migrants crossing the U.S. southern border, including many Cubans, skyrocketed under President Joe Biden, particularly through Panama’s Darién Gap, a deadly jungle trail that claimed the lives of many migrants under Biden. Following the return of President Trump to office, and the election of President José Raúl Mulino in Panama, the Darién Gap trail was closed. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported in August 2025 that Darién Gap migrant crossings dropped 99.98 percent for May and June of this year compared to crossings in August 2023.