Balseros

Balseros spotted and rescued by the Carnival Liberty in 2014

Balseros ("rafters", from the Spanish balsa "raft") were boat people who emigrated without formal documentation in self constructed or precarious vessels from Cuba to neighboring states including The Bahamas, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and, most commonly, the United States since the 1994 Balsero crisis and during the wet feet, dry feet policy.