33 Cuban Migrants Rescued Off Florida Coast

U.S. authorities on Wednesday rescued 33 Cuban men who were in an overloaded boat that was taking on water not far from the Florida coast, officials said.

The U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement that the rescue took place about seven miles (11 kilometers) from the beaches of the Boca Raton in Florida.

"Thirty-three migrants in total were rescued after (they) were observed jumping in the water after their vessel was reportedly taking on water," the Coast Guard said.

"The suspected migrants were taken aboard a Coast Guard smallboat and safely transferred to a Coast Guard Cutter for basic medical attention," the statement read.

The men will be returned to Cuba. Under U.S. law, Cubans who set foot on U.S. territory can stay, but those intercepted at sea are taken back to the communist island that has not had full diplomatic ties with Washington since 1961.

Wednesday's incident occurred just two days after another boat ran into trouble near the Florida Keys with 13 Cubans on board. 

In that case, two of them swam to shore, nine were rescued in the water and two others were still missing.

The number of Cubans intercepted in the shark-infested Straits of Florida has soared in recent years, according to the Coast Guard.

Between October 2013 and September 2014, 3,722 Cubans were intercepted trying to cross illegally to the United States by sea.

The number was up from 2,129 for the same period a year earlier.