By FARRAH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

IMMIGRATION officials have been ordered to prove that they acted lawfully when they allegedly detained a Cuban woman who was placed in their care and custody after the boat she was on capsized in Bahamian waters when she and a group of other people tried to sail from Cuba to the United States two months ago.

Adriana Maria Caro, 22, was said to have been onboard a Cuban vessel that was intercepted by Cuban, Bahamian, Turks Island and US Coast Guard officials in early March. According to court documents, for some “unknown reason” there was an accident on Cay Sal Bank and the boat subsequently exploded and sank.

While immigration officials have not confirmed if Mrs Caro is in their custody or where she is being held, relatives of the woman say they have reason to believe she has not been deported to Cuba and is still being detained at a local immigration facility.

Last week, a Supreme Court judge granted the attorneys representing Mrs Caro leave to issue a writ of habeas corpus against Attorney General Carl Bethel, Immigration Minister Elsworth Johnson, Immigration Director Clarence Russell and Peter Joseph, the officer in charge of the Carmichael Road Detention Centre.

One of the affidavits filed in support of the application was made by Mrs Caro’s cousin, Iliana Perez. In the court document, she said she was told that Mrs Caro—who is like a daughter to her—may have been hospitalised at Princess Margaret Hospital after the accident.

“On March 7, 2021, I contacted Princess Margaret Hospital to check if Adriana was there,” the affidavit says.

“After several days of calling the hospital, I was advised by a female who identified herself as a nurse that Adriana was there, but she was discharged two weeks prior and handed over to the Department of immigration. She mentioned that the Cuban nationals were transferred to the Carmichael Detention Centre.

“The nurse suggested that I contact the Detention Centre to see if they would allow me to speak with her. I called the Department of Immigration for several days and got no response.”

Ms Perez said when she reached out to American, Cuban and Bahamian officials, she was told there was no information available and that the matter was under investigation.

She said when another relative called PMH the next day, a female nurse told her that Adriana was there but said she could not give them any information about her. However, Ms Perez said when she called again a few weeks later, she was told that Mrs Caro was in the emergency room two weeks prior and had been transferred to the Detention Centre after receiving treatment.

“I called the Detention Centre and spoke with several persons who told me that Adriana was not there,” the affidavit continued. “I explained that the hospital told me that she was released and sent to the Detention Centre. The lady spoke to me with a very bad attitude and so I asked her if I could speak with the supervisor. She asked me to hold and then transferred me to (her).

“(The supervisor) came to the phone and identified herself. I told (her) that my cousin Adriana was discharged from PMH and was transferred there, and I wanted to check on her. I gave her Adriana’s full name and date of birth. I spelt her name three times. She asked who I was to Adriana (and) I told her she was my first cousin, but she was more like a daughter to me. (The supervisor) told me that Adriana was there and I said, ‘Great I will be flying to Nassau to visit her’ but (she) said no visitations were being allowed because of the COVID-19 protocols.”

Ms Perez said the woman assured her Mrs Caro was in good health and separated from the male detainees. However, when she asked to speak to her, she was told the phone in the area where Mrs Caro was was not working and she would have to call back another day.

“On March 24, 2021, I called back in the afternoon and asked to speak with (the supervisor). I had the phone on speaker, and I was with Adriana’s husband, Maykel Monteagudo, and an attorney in Florida. They were all listening to my conversation. (She) came to the phone and said, ‘Yes I remember you called yesterday, I remember you Mrs Perez, but I am so sorry I made a mistake and gave you wrong information about Adriana.’

“I said how could you make a mistake when I spelt her name three times and gave you her date of birth and you confirmed that she was there and was fine. I was confused and concerned that (the supervisor) confirmed that Adriana was safe and in less than 24 hours, was saying that she was not there. (Although she) was very pleasant the day before she terminated the call very abruptly.”

In a second affidavit, attorney Paul Whitfield said he believed Mrs Caro was being held “incommunicado” at the Detention Centre. He said when he phoned the facility on March 25 to see if Mrs Caro was there, he was told that she was not in the system. However, when he told Mrs Caro’s family what he had been told, they became “extremely sceptical” since they had been informed that Mrs Caro was there just “days before”.

“At approximately 10.37am on March 26…I spoke with (the supervisor). I identified myself to her, informed her on whose behalf I was acting and gave her Adriana’s full name, nationality and date of birth. Rather than asking if Adriana was being held there, I decided I would adopt the posture that she was indeed there and instead asked what was being done with her.

“Without hesitation and without making any checks of the system, or with other Detention Centre officials, (the supervisor) answered my questions spontaneously by responding that Adriana was indeed being held at the Detention Centre; she was being taken to court that morning, she was being charged with overstaying; whether she would be deported or not depended on what the magistrate’s decision in court that day would be; and I would not be able to speak with her as she was already on her way to court.”

Mr Whitfield said when he contacted Mrs Caro’s relatives to relay the information to them, his call was interrupted by the supervisor who called him back in an attempt to “contradict everything” she had told him “minutes before.”

He said the woman told him she had made a mistake; Mrs Caro was not being held at the Detention Centre and she was momentarily confused because the female being taken to court was a Peruvian national with a similar name.

“I responded by challenging (her) contradiction. I told her I did not believe her since she had originally answered my questions spontaneously, without hesitation and without checking their computer system or with colleagues. I reminded her that I had given her Adriana’s full name, gender, nationality, and date of birth when I originally informed her who I was and why I was calling her. She continued trying to demonstrate with me, but I refused to accept her new position...”

According to Ms Perez, despite the contradicting reports, they have learnt that Mrs Caro is actually being held at the Department of Immigration’s safe house, a fact they believe to be true.

“We are not sure how Adriana came to be on that boat. She is married to a US resident since December 2020 and a US lawyer has been working on her documents to allow her to come to the US legally, so this was a complete surprise for the family,” her affidavit says.

“Adriana has two brothers and a family that is desperately trying to locate her. We are asking the Bahamian government not to send her back to Cuba as she will be in great danger if she is deported to Cuba.”