Cuban Aboard Boat Dies After Coast Guard Chase
A Cuban woman died from possible head injuries after the U.S. Coast Guard chased a suspected smuggler’s speedboat from south of Key West to near Boca Chica and fired shots into its engines to stop the vessel, U.S. officials said.
The Coast Guard said the death of a woman on the boat was not a result of the shooting. The boat carried 31 Cubans and three people who authorities said were smugglers.
Under the U.S. “wet foot/dry foot” policy, most Cubans who reach U.S. soil are allowed to remain but those intercepted at sea are generally sent home.
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