Cubans Stranded At Sea Aboard Coast Guard Vessel
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WASHINGTON (CBSMiami/AP) -- Thirty-eight Cuban migrants are stranded aboard a U.S. Coast Guard vessel waiting for permission to return to Cuba.
The migrants were caught trying to sail to the U.S.
The Associated Press has learned the migrants are aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant in the Florida Straits.
The would-be immigrants had tourist visas to the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia when they were intercepted by the Coast Guard. The Cuban government has refused to allow them return.
That's according to two U.S. officials speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to publicly discuss details.
The standoff at sea is likely to be a problem in the ongoing effort to re-establish diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba's communist government.
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