Cubans Find Key West, Seek Asylum at Miami

MIAMI —  A group of Cubans who apparently took over a coastal freighter over the weekend and steered it to Key West arrived here for immigration processing Monday. With them were members of the ship’s crew who had been tied up during the voyage.

The 100-foot Cuban ship, carrying 15 passengers and a crew of five, reached the Coast Guard station in Key West on Sunday after hailing a private boat to ask for directions, the Coast Guard said.

There was some confusion as to who wanted to seek asylum in the United States and who wanted to return to Cuba, officials said, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Key West wasn’t prepared to sort out the situation.