USINT HAS FRONT ROW SEAT FOR RAFTER INCIDENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L HAVANA 000330 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2029 TAGS: ASEC CU PGOV PREL SMIG SNAR SUBJECT: USINT HAS FRONT ROW SEAT FOR RAFTER INCIDENT Classified By: COM JONATHAN FARRAR FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) & (D) ¶1. (C) Summary: On 4 June 2009, United States Interests Section Havana (USINT) personnel witnessed an apparent Cuban migrant raft floating extremely close to the Malecon seawall directly in front of the USINT building. The raft had seven males onboard who refused, at first, to come off the vessel. Cuban Ministry of Interior (MININT) vessels and land-side troops responded to the incident, culminating in the apprehension of all seven migrants. The incident was a sight to see, including for the international press who were permitted to locate themselves in close proximity to the raft and Cuban authorities. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Around 1100L on 4 June 2009, Chief of Mission and Political Officer noticed a small raft floating directly in front of the Malecon seawall in front of USINT. In addition, a Cuban Border Guard (CBG) go fast (gf) style patrol boat was loitering in the area. The gf monitored the movement of the raft, and appeared to block the raft from moving northbound away from the Malecon and further out to sea. The seven migrants on the raft were never more than approximately thirty yards offshore during the incident. Also on scene was a small tugboat that loitered in the same vicinity. Onboard were several MININT troops and a group of men in blue uniforms. ¶3. (C) Cuban police onshore moved bystanders away from the scene and waved vehicles on, but did not attempt to stop traffic on the Malecon, the major road in front of USINT, at any time during the incident. ¶4. (C) At 1110L, the tugboat departed the scene and made good speed towards a small, typical Cuban fishing vessel. In the meantime, the CBG gf increased its standoff distance to about 75 yards offshore. The raft was still in close proximity to the shore, and unarmed CBG troops standing onshore attempted to convince the migrants to come off of the raft. The migrants bantered back and forth with the troops, appearing to argue and tell the troops they would not come off. Both the tugboat and the fishing vessel loitered in close proximity to one another, and appeared to be standoff vessels until a larger, green-hulled fishing trawler arrived on scene at 1150L. The trawler had a flashing light, indicating it may have been a law enforcement/military vessel. When the trawler arrived and stationed itself approximately 250 yards offshore, the CBG gf immediately turned and sped towards the trawler. The gf stayed close to the trawler for a period of approximately 10 minutes. ¶5. (C) At approximately 1200L, the CBG gf, apparently taking orders from someone on the trawler, turned toward shore and proceeded at a high rate of speed towards the raft. The gf then slowed and approached the raft. A CBG deckhand on the gf attempted to use the gf's anchor as a grappling hook. The deckhand repeatedly heaved the anchor towards the raft, making contact several times, including with several of the migrants onboard. One migrant was struck by the anchor and was either thrown overboard by its force or became scared, jumped off, and began to swim ashore. Shortly thereafter, 5 of the remaining 6 migrants onboard jumped into the water and were apprehended. ¶6. (C) One migrant jumped off the raft, but refused to come ashore. While he waded, he argued with the MININT officials urging him to come ashore. In the meantime, the raft was grappled with the anchor and taken to the tugboat that made its way close to shore again. The raft appeared to be loaded onto the tugboat and taken away. From the west, presumably from the Cuban Border Guard base located in close proximity to Marina Hemingway and Club Havana in Havana's Jaimanitas area, another gf carrying a contingent of MININT officers and apparently MININT special troops clad in wetsuits, closed in on the scene at a high rate of speed. Upon approaching the scene, at least 3 of the special troops dove into the water, and hurriedly swam toward the remaining migrant. Upon noticing the troops swimming toward him, the migrant waded out of the water and was the last of the group of 7 to be apprehended. ¶7. (C) The apprehension of each migrant was met with extreme interest from a group of reporters and photographers. There appeared to be no attempt by Cuban authorities to stop the influx of press, who were bold to the point that they stuck their heads into the MININT vehicles to take photos of the detainees. Shortly after the seventh migrant was apprehended and taken away, the crowd of press, MININT, and other Cubans dispersed in short order. ¶8. (C) Comment: This incident captured the attention of many Cubans, tourists, and USINT personnel. At the present time, it is unknown how the raft and its seven migrants found themselves directly in front of the USINT building. According to some USINT personnel, the raft just seemed to appear, as did the CBG gf. It seems highly unlikely that the migrants could have launched their raft directly in front of the USINT building due to the extremely high level of security common to the area surrounding USINT and the refugee annex. If the migrants did launch from the area in the vicinity of USINT, this would be highly inconsistent with common migrant departures, as most tend to depart from east of the port of Havana and Havana Bay; if this was the case, their departure may well have been an attempt to elicit a response from USINT or to take to the sea to make a point to U.S. officials here. Further, the timing of this incident is interesting considering the recent news that Cuba and the United States will engage in migrant talks in the near future. Finally, the raft bore a striking resemblance to rafts that have recently been interdicted in the Florida Straits and Florida Keys; according to recent classified reporting, rafts of this type are being built by a single builder in the Havana and Mariel areas. As GOC authorities allowed unusually free access to the press, the issue received generous attention in the Miami press. End Comment. FARRAR