A group of Cuban migrants who appeared to be armed with machetes reached the shore Florida's Hollywood Beach on Saturday afternoon, authorities said.
According to Hollywood police, 11 Cuban migrants landed on Hollywood Beach near the 6000 block of North Ocean Drive around 6:20 p.m.
One of the migrants, Yoandy Alonoso Figueredo, said the trip lasted eight days and the group went without food and water for four. He said the sight of the coastline brought them hope.
Coast Guard officials tried to divert the migrants' boat before it reached Hollywood Beach. Officials said the migrants appeared to be armed with machetes and large knives and were threatening to harm themselves if their boat was stopped.
When they reached the shore, the migrants ran from the boat toward an approaching crowd of around 200 people, police said.
Border Patrol officials said some migrants were shot with Tasers while trying to escape.
"I saw this guy come out of the boat. He just ran and then the police officers were chasing him with a Taser," said a man who recorded the migrants' arrival on his cellphone.
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Two were detained and one was taken to the hospital.
The Cuban migrant who was hospitalized hurt himself with a machete when police confronted him, officials said. He’s recovering from his injuries at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood.
All the migrants were taken to a hospital and transferred to federal custody.
Since October, at least 4,643 Cubans have attempted to illegally migrate to the U.S. by boat compared to 4,473 in 2015.
