Flotilla to shoot fireworks off Cuba

Under the Coast Guard's watchful eye, a flotilla will head from Key West to offshore Cuba to set off fireworks in a display of solidarity of opponents of the Communist government living on the island country.

Ramon Sanchez, organizer of the Miami-based nonprofit Democracy Movement said the pro-democracy and human rights group will leave the Key West Bight at 7 a.m. bound for an area 12.5 miles off Cuba.

"The purpose is to express, symbolically, our solidarity with the people who are peacefully struggling for democratic change on the island," Sanchez said Thursday. "And to protest the policies of the Cuban government." Key West resident Manuel Ruiz said he will participate in the flotilla of about 10 boats to support the people of Cuba. Ruiz left Cuba and came to Key West aboard a boat with his brother more than 30 years ago.

"I'm going because the people of Cuba should be free," Ruiz said.

Some boats are coming from Key West and Marathon as well as Miami, Sanchez said. He asked supporters to not join the flotilla if their boat is less than 30 feet in length, citing expected rough seas.

The fireworks are professional pyrotechnics, like those fired from the White Street Pier for the Fourth of July, and will be shot by a technician, Sanchez said.

The lead boat will fly a white flag to display the group's non-iolent intentions, and none of the boats will enter Cuban waters, Sanchez said.

"We will remain in international waters at all times," Sanchez said, noting that Cuban officials are aware of their mission. "If they [Cuba] come out and harass us, they will be committing an act of violence in international waters."

Rear Adm. Bill Baumgartner, commander of the Miami-based Coast Guard Seventh District, which includes Monroe County, said the agency will monitor the situation to ensure the boats are safe and that all vessels comply with the law. The details of how many cutters, ships or aircraft involved in any mission is not typically disclosed, district spokesman Nick Ameen said.

"We will be watching carefully as they exercise their right to free speech, to make sure the situation remains safe," Baumgartner said Thursday.

The flotilla organizers told the Coast Guard they had no intention of crossing into Cuban waters.

"We have no reason to believe," that anything illegal will take place, Baumgartner said.

Coast Guard Sector Key West commander Capt. Pat DeQuattro likened the Coast Guard's involvement to its monitoring of long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad's recent attempts to swim from Cuba to Key West.

The flotilla is expected to return sometime Saturday, Ruiz said. 

 

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