Miami - Four Cuban boat people intercepted just yards off the Florida coast will be allowed to stay in the US at least temporarily, federal officials said yesterday. US Coast Guard vessels surrounded their tiny boat to prevent the men from reaching shore. Live television showed coastguard crews spraying them with a fire hose and firing pepper spray at one of the Cubans, provoking angry protests.
The four, and two others who made it ashore, were turned over to the border patrol. They were to be held pending review of their claims for political asylum.