Cuban Exiles in Miami Shut Down Highway to Protest New U.S. Policy

Cuban exiles, angry over the new U.S. policy of sending back all Cuban boat people, shut down a Miami expressway Monday as the first group of 13 refugees awaited their forcible return.

Eastbound traffic on busy Highway 836 backed up for several miles for about 45 minutes as exiles waved Cuban flags and massed in front of a tollbooth at midday. About 200 people later gathered in front of the county courthouse.

On Monday, the 13 refugees waited aboard a Coast Guard cutter off Cuba, where they were being interviewed, State Department spokeswoman Christine Shelly said. She said she had no information on whether any of the men would qualify for political asylum.

Radio Mambi, WAQI in Miami, reported Monday that Cuban leaders will not let the U.S. cutter into a Cuban port because they fear the reaction of Cubans on shore. Instead, they want to transfer the men to a Cuban ship. U.S. officials, however, want to deliver the men to port to monitor their return, the Spanish-language station reported, quoting unidentified U.S. government sources in Washington.

State Department officials did not immediately return a call.