Early on the mornings of both Thursday, December 27th, and Friday, December 28th, the park received calls from the Coast Guard’s Miami Beach station reporting the landing of Cuban migrants in the park – on Elliott Key the first day and Adams Key the second. Both groups were evidently smuggled in by “go fast” boats that picked them up in Cuba, charging an average of $10,000 per person to bring them to the United States. Both groups appear to have been smuggled in before sunrise. There were a dozen men, women and children in Thursday’s group and 38 in Friday’s. The park has seen a marked increase in Cuban migrants being dropped off on its remote keys this year, evidently due to recent tensions in Cuba.
