HAVANA, Cuba (CMC) – A group of 141 Haitian migrants have been stranded on Cuba’s southern coast, as several Haitians continue to flee their troubled country.

According to officials, the group which arrived at La Tatagua beach in the central province of Cienfuegos on Friday, included 22 children and several pregnant women, who were all hoping to reach the United States.

The group set out eight days earlier from Gonave Island, west of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince but were hampered by bad weather.

In late May, 842 Haitians were rescued from a boat off Cuba’s north coast, where they had been abandoned by smugglers.

Due to sea currents and winds, some smugglers’ vessels aiming to reach the United States often end up in Cuba.

A few days ago, US officials said at least five Haitian migrants drowned and 68 others rescued after a suspected human smuggling boat dropped the group off in waters near an uninhabited island west of Puerto Rico.

This came just days after authorities in the Bahamas recovered the bodies of 17 Haitians and rescued 25 more after their boat capsized.

A growing number of Haitians are fleeing their country as gangs grow more powerful following the July 7, 2021, assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.