"These repatriations are a result of eight separate at-sea migrant interdictions in the south Florida straits," the release explained on Monday. "The Coast Guard helped secure the US border and prevented these sea voyages from ending in tragedy."
The Coast Guard cutter William Flores repatriated 76 Cuban migrants on November 19, the cutter Isaac Mayo repatriated 15 Cuban migrants on Wednesday and the cutter Raymond Evans repatriated 18 Cuban migrants on Friday, the release said.
In 2016, the Coast Guard interdicted 7,411 Cubans attempting to reach the United States by sea, a 66 percent increase from 4,473 interdictions in the previous year.
On Friday, Cuba announced the death of longtime leader Fidel Castro, an event that went unmentioned in the release.
