9 Cubans Foiled in Attempt to Flee Refugee Tent Camp

Eleven Cuban refugees tried to flee a tent camp at the U.S. navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Tuesday, but only two reached Cuban territory, a U.S. military official said.

Nine of the escapees were returned to confinement at the base, Army Maj. Rick Thomas, a spokesman for the military task force running the refugee camps, said.

It was the second mass break-out in three days of refugees seeking to return to their Communist-ruled homeland.

On Sunday, a group of 85 refugees made it outside the camps, but 46 were recaptured by U.S. military personnel. It was unknown how many of the other 39 made it safely to Cuban territory.

U.S. military officials say the escapes are a sign of growing anger among hundreds of refugees who want to go home, but are being held up by a variety of delays.

The refugees escaped from a camp where about 1,000 Cubans are being held apart from other rafters because they have volunteered to return to Cuba.