20 Cubans Granted Asylum by Costa Rica
A man who gained attention when he tried to reach Florida aboard a 1959 Buick converted to a boat was among 20 Cubans who were granted refugee status in Costa Rica, authorities said Wednesday.
The Cubans, who were being held by U.S. authorities, were transferred to Costa Rica this week from the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Luis Grass Rodriguez first attempted the trip across the Florida Straits in a seagoing Chevrolet pickup in July 2002 and was sent back to Cuba.
He tried again the next February, this time in a converted 1959 Buick sedan, and U.S. officials transferred him to Guantanamo.
U.S. officials first asked Costa Rica to accept the 20 refugees last summer, shortly after they arrived at Guantanamo along with a larger group of rafters who were originally bound for Florida.
Costa Rica chose the 20 based on personal interviews with government officials, said Foreign Minister Rogelio Ramos.
The refugees include a medical anesthesiologist, mechanics and tourism experts, among others, Ramos said.
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