JUPITER, Fla. — In Jupiter this past weekend, the U.S. Border Patrol said it took nine Cubans into custody after their makeshift boat landed on shore.
These days it seems more and more are coming ashore from Jupiter to Key West.
Pictures from Border Patrol show the boat that seemingly brought the nine Cuban migrants to Jupiter over the weekend. All of them are now in the custody of immigration authorities.
This latest arrival is just another in a long series of landings and interceptions at sea lately around Florida.
The Coast Guard said more than 3,300 Cubans have been intercepted in trying to make the dangerous crossing, a significant increase over just 838 last year and 49 the year before.
In fact, it's now reached levels not seen since 2016.
"Right now, the U.S. is sending back a lot of people, sending back to Cuba," said Carlos Martinez, a Cuban-American who recently wrote about the protests in Cuba last year and speaks with family there everyday.
Martinez said there is growing desperation among Cubans to escape that country and reach Florida's shores.
"There are young people coming here. Also old people too. The other day was a guy like 81 years old. 67, 78 those things have been happening. It’s like not only young people, Everybody is coming," Martinez said.
There is a chance some Cubans will get to stay, while others will be sent back.
But as long as conditions remain bad in Cuba, many expect even more people to keep trying to flee and reach Florida in the near future.