Posted at 7:02 a.m. EDT Friday, June 15, 2001
Miami Herald
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- (AP) -- The Dominican Republic on
Thursday granted temporary residence to seven Cubans who crossed illegally over
the land border from Haiti.
The seven Cubans were among a dozen rescued by a Haitian freighter May 31
after their boat sank en route to the United States. The others are still
believed to be in Haiti.
President Hipolito Mejia granted the Cubans temporary residence for
humanitarian reasons, said a written statement from the Foreign Ministry. The
Cubans will be allowed to remain at least until Mejia decides whether to grant
their request for political asylum.
Seven of the Cubans last Friday night entered the Dominican Republic, which
shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with Haiti, according to Danilo
Rodriguez, spokesman for the Dominican Foreign Ministry.
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