LAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA, Fla. (AP) - A group of Cuban migrants made it to Florida aboard a makeshift sailboat they christened for "the tremendous" President Barack Obama.
In news photographs posted by the Sun Sentinel , the small wooden boat appears handmade with a tarp for a sail. On one side, "Barack Obama" is written in yellow along with shorthand in Spanish for "the tremendous."
A tourist from Texas, Cathy Crawley, told the newspaper that she saw several people jump from the boat Monday evening and start "kissing the beach" at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. Under U.S. policy, Cubans who reach U.S. shores usually are allowed to stay and pursue citizenship.
Four men and two women aboard the boat told reporters they had been at sea for nine days. Local media reported that one woman is pregnant.
Cuban migrants reach Lauderdale-by-the-Sea in raft named "Barack Obama" https://t.co/auKCPTTQus pic.twitter.com/C6E6LcdjGL
— Sun Sentinel (@SunSentinel) June 7, 2016