THE 15 Cubans who were rescued at sea by the Centennial II which was heading for the Jamalco Bauxite Plant in Clarendon are being housed at the Horizon Remand Centre in Kingston.

Both the Ministry of National Security and the Ministry of Health said yesterday that they had completed their preliminary processing of the Cubans at Rocky Point, Clarendon, where they disembarked.

“The information collected has been turned over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade so that contact can be established with the Cuban Embassy in Jamaica for official verification of the nationality of the 15 persons rescued,” the Ministry of National Security said in a statement yesterday.

The ministry said that a man, 61, who claimed to be the captain of the boat the Cubans were travelling in, told immigration officials that they had intended to sail to Miami when the boat developed difficulty with the huge waves that tossed it around on the open seas before being rescued by Centennial II.

“Since their arrival, they have been enquiring about relatives in Miami. None of the Cubans have asked for asylum in Jamaica,” said the ministry statement.

The group consists of two females in their 20s, and 13 males with ages ranging from 16 to 61.