MIAMI — A man from Cuba was found almost 20 miles from shore off Miami-Dade County on Monday floating on a homemade foam raft that was no bigger than a small bed mattress, federal agents say.

A boater saw the man about 16 miles out in the ocean off Key Biscayne and called VHF Channel 16, the preferred method for calling in a maritime emergency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement.

U.S. Coast Guard and Customs Air and Marine units responded and found the man, whom the statement noted was “fortunate to be alive.”

“This incident underscores the extreme danger of attempting illegal maritime migration,” the statement reads. “The open water is unforgiving, and these journeys can quickly become fatal.”

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue paramedics medically evaluated the man, who was then transferred to the Coast Guard Cutter Melvin Bell, Customs said. He will likely be sent back to Cuba.

The Miami Herald has reached out to Customs officials asking how long the man said he was in the ocean before he was found.

Cubans arriving on South Florida shores in homemade boats and rafts was a daily event just three years ago. But the Biden and DeSantis administrations increased patrols off the Keys and Florida Straits following a flood of arrivals between 2022 and 2023, which resulted in a significant reduction.

After the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants and the implementation of its mass deportation policy, landings reduced even further.

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