How a Coast Guard Plane Scoured Islands Looking for Migrants — And What the Crew Found

Lt. Cmdr. Derrick Ferguson with the Royal Bahamas Defense Force said the Cay Sal Bank area just off the north coast of Cuba is a traditional “transshipment point” for people leaving Cuba for the United States. It includes Cay Sal Bank, Elbow Cay and a group of small islands called the Anguilla Cays. But there has been a “significant uptick” in migrants arriving there over the past three to four months — coinciding with the increase in landings in the Florida Keys, Miami-Dade and Broward. “Sometimes, between navigational errors, sea conditions or mechanical issues, they will be left marooned on one of those cays inside Cay Sal Bank,” Ferguson said.