Cayman Government Press Release

GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands – Four Cuban migrants are in police custody following incidents at the Immigration Detention Centre.

One of the migrants jumped the fence and was captured by Prison Staff after a foot chase and another climbed onto the roof of the facility armed with large rocks.

The four are being investigated for escaping lawful custody and threats against law enforcement individuals.

“I recognise that the situation was extremely volatile and praise for the staff who were able to manage the incident and diffuse it without any injury,” said Premier and Minister of Home Affairs Hon. Alden McLaughlin.

Attending the scene were several officers from the Department of Immigration, Her Majesty’s Prison, as well as a full contingent of fire officers and trucks outside the IDC.

Home Affairs Chief Officer Eric Bush went to the scene and noted that things had begun to calm down and that the migrant on the roof had come down own his own accord.

“It is my understanding that tensions have been rising for some time now,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “This is largely due to the wait times for the Cubans to be repatriated back to Cuba and the uncertainty of when this will occur.

“I have scheduled a meeting for next week to discuss the management of the Immigration Detention Centre going forward and will make a further announcement thereafter.”

The Memorandum of Understanding with Cuba states that migrants are to be repatriated within three weeks. Currently, repatriations are taking two to three months.

Officials from the Cayman Islands and Cuba are slated to meet next month for a review of the MoU.

Mr. McLaughlin said the arrival of any more migrant Cubans could make matters even worse.

“Long term, the work really has to be with Cuba to work toward repatriation time lines that are in keeping with the three weeks in the MoU. We want to work with Cuba to fix this situation going forward.”

See also:

Cuban refugees cause disturbance at Fairbanks

From RCIPS    Thu, May 22, 2014 at 3:08 PM

At about 10:30 am this morning, 911 received a call that the Cuban refugees were causing a disturbance at the Immigration Detention Centre, Fairbanks. When the police arrived, they received further information that some of the refugees made threats to do harm to an Immigration officer and threaten to burn down the detention facility. As a precautionary measure, the Fire Department was notified of the threat and fire officers dispatched. Other law enforcement officers from the Prison, Immigration and Customs attended and assisted.

Three Cuban refugee males were arrested by officers of the RCIPS for threatening violence and disorderly conduct. They were transported to the George Town Police Station where inquiries are continuing.

No one was physically injured and no property damaged.