Cuban exiles to commemorate tugboat drownings

Posted on Monday, 05.19.14

Cuban exiles to commemorate tugboat drownings
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MIAMI -- The 20th anniversary of the deaths of 41 Cubans trying to cross
the Florida Straits is being remembered with a flotilla.

The Miami Democracy Movement plans to announce details Wednesday for a
July event commemorating the tragedy.

The drownings occurred when a group of some 70 people boarded a stolen
tugboat on July 13, 1994, in Havana, headed for the United States.
Survivors say Cuban coast guard vessels pursued them and repeatedly
rammed their boat about seven miles offshore, spraying them with fire
hoses and refusing to respond to some cries for help. The victims
included nearly a dozen children.

Cuban officials maintain the coast guard vessel accidentally crashed
into the tugboat. At least 31 people survived.

Source: MIAMI: Cuban exiles to commemorate tugboat drownings - Florida
Wires - MiamiHerald.com -
http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/05/19/4124049/cuban-exiles-to-commemorate-tugboat.html