**Cuban Boat Carrying 12 Passengers Sinks Near Northern Cuban Coast**
On January 28, a boat carrying twelve passengers heading towards the United States, sunk off of the northern Cuban coast near Cayo Cruz del Padre. According to Cuban official media and Yumuri TV, the Cuban border guard services were able to rescue the other eleven occupants of the boat.

The accident occurred on Tuesday morning, due to strong waves in the area, which was also unconfirmed by social media outlets earlier. Once the occupants of the boat called emergency services, two patrol boats of the border guards arrived on the scene to help.

Yumuri TV reported that the twelve passengers were from Cárdenas, and had left the country illegally on January 23 with the intent of traveling to the US, despite the risks. Hundreds of Cubans have taken to sea in recent days to try and reach the US.

The US has seen an influx of over 300,000 Cubans in 2022, and 1,200 this month alone. Part of this is attributed to the political repression and economic crisis of the past two years, with shortages and high inflation.

In response to this, the US Government has announced a change to their immigration policy against Cubans. Hopefully, this will help more easily and safely those wishing to travel to the US.