Group said they had been at sea for several days

LONGBOAT KEY -- After paying $2,000 each to a smuggler to flee Cuba for the United States, 25 Cuban refugees arrived here early Monday and were spotted before dawn off the island's main thoroughfare.

It's unclear whether the seven women and 18 men realized that their boat trip to freedom would bring them to Southwest Florida, hundreds of miles from Miami and relatives.

They told Luis Ortiz, a landscaper who translated for police, that they were headed for Miami but rough waters added days to their trip before they were dropped off early Monday. They said they had spent several days in a 30-foot boat and had not eaten since Thursday.

But U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents suggested that human smugglers are seeking out landing spots along the Gulf Coast to avoid a crackdown on smuggling in the waters off Miami.

Collier County in particular has become a hot spot for refugee boats.

Late Monday, the U.S. Coast Guard was still searching for the 30-foot craft.

On Longboat Key, police bought the Cubans ham sandwiches and sports drinks and Ortiz gave them clothes. The passengers, who ranged in age from 19 to 59, later waited in a fenced-in storage area at the police station for federal customs agents to take custody of them.

About six hours after landing on Longboat Key, the Cubans flashed smiles and thumbs-up signs to TV cameras they were loaded into white Immigration and Customs Enforcement vans.

They started their new lives in Florida Monday night when they were released in Tampa.

The refugees had been dropped off as early as 2:30 a.m. Monday at the beach at Beer Can Island, Ortiz said. After sitting in the sand for a few hours, they walked a quarter-mile out to North Shore Road and Gulf of Mexico Drive.

They were discovered just after 5 a.m. by the driver of truck delivering shrimp to a local marina, Longboat Key Police Chief Al Hogle said.

Longboat Key Police officer Willie Jackson was among the first to arrive at the scene.

"They were milling around," Jackson said. "They were cold and wet and didn't know where they were. They were just happy to be where they could get help."

Some were dehydrated and sunburned. They smelled. They asked Ortiz where they were, if they were close to Miami. They borrowed Ortiz' cell phone and made excited calls to relatives.

At about 6:15 a.m., police flagged a nearly empty SCAT bus to take the refugees to the police station.

Bus driver Pat Clisham said they were quiet but scared.

"I could see it in their eyes," Clisham said. "Coming across the way they did, I'd be scared, too."

Ortiz and police interviewed and identified the Cubans.

"We wanted to make sure there were no Al Capones in the group," Hogle said.

The chief said that all of them appeared in good health, although three were treated for dehydration and symptoms of hypothermia, according to a police report.

Ortiz said he got to know several of the Cubans as he spent time with them early Monday.

One woman said she was targeted by police because she had amenities in her home, like air conditioners and a stereo.

A man told Ortiz he was trained as an attorney in Cuba, but was instead milking cows, which paid about the same.

And a recently married woman said that her husband had been awarded a visa, but she had been denied one by the government.

Most were not happy in Cuba.

"They feel kind of oppressed," Ortiz said. "They want to make more money and be able to live better. They feel secure here, for some reason."

Steve McDonald, Border Patrol agent in charge of the border patrol station in Tampa, said the Cubans were interviewed all day Monday.

That includes obtaining biographical data, running background checks, running their fingerprints, checking for criminal records and interviewing them about their trip.

Now that they are released, the Cubans go through a series of steps to start their new life here: applying for permanent residency, getting work authorization, which can take four to five months, and getting Social Security numbers.

In a year, they can apply for permanent residency, said Oscar Rivera, deputy director of Church World Service in Miami, one of several agencies in the Miami area that specialize in helping newly arrived Cuban immigrants.

"Once they land, the Homeland Security notifies us, we pick them up and reunite them with their families," Rivera said.

Police officers and Ortiz were told the boat headed back toward Cuba after the drop-off.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061219/NEWS/612190431