National park is forced to close after being overwhelmed by migrants — and the local sheriff knows exactly who to blame



Dry Tortugas National Park, located in the Florida Keys, was forced to close on Monday after being overwhelmed with hundreds of migrants.

Officials said approximately 300 migrants have arrived at the remote national park in recent days, forcing the closure "while law enforcement and medical personnel evaluate, provide care for and coordinate transport to Key West" for the migrants, the National Park Service said in a statement.

On Sunday, Border Patrol Chief Agent Walter Slosar tweeted pictures of the makeshift boats on which migrants had sailed to the U.S.

\u201c\ud835\ude49\ud835\ude5a\ud835\ude6c \ud835\ude54\ud835\ude5a\ud835\ude56\ud835\ude67\u2019\ud835\ude68 \ud835\ude3f\ud835\ude56\ud835\ude6e \ud835\ude5e\ud835\ude63 \ud835\ude41\ud835\ude61\ud835\ude64\ud835\ude67\ud835\ude5e\ud835\ude59\ud835\ude56:\n\nOver 160 migrants have been encountered today in the #Florida Keys. Border Patrol agents with support from federal, state, and local LE partners responded to 10 migrant landings since midnight.\u00a0\n\n#Breaking_News #NewYear #NewYear2023\u201d
— Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar (@Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar) 1672594111

The park did not immediately say how long it will be closed.

Officials did not specify from which countries the migrants originated, but said there has been a recent increase of migrants arriving from Cuba.

"Like elsewhere in the Florida Keys, the park has recently seen an increase in people arriving by boat from Cuba and landing on the islands of Dry Tortugas National Park," the National Park Service explained. "Park first responders provide food, water and basic medical attention until the Department of Homeland Security arrives and takes the lead."

The national park is about 100 miles north of Havana, the capital city of Cuba, and thus the archipelago on which it is situated is a frequent landing location for Cubans escaping their country. But if the migrants are Cuban, they will likely be repatriated.

That is because Barack Obama, as one of his final presidential acts, ended long-standing U.S. policy that ensured Cuban migrants who successfully landed in the U.S. would remain here and be expedited for citizenship. Obama ended the policy to "normalize relations" with communist Cuba.

Anything else?

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office called the situation at Dry Tortugas National Park a "mass migration crisis" and blamed the federal government.

"This shows a lack of a working plan by the federal government to deal with a mass migration issue that was foreseeable," Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay said in a statement.

Pregnant wife reportedly jumped into the water to save husband after he was attacked by a shark in the Florida Keys



After a man was attacked by a shark while snorkeling in the Florida Keys, witnesses say his pregnant wife immediately jumped into the water and pulled him to safety.

According to the Miami Herald, 30-year-old Andrew Charles Eddy of Atlanta was attacked on Sunday by what was believed to be a bull shark in the water on Sombrero Reef, a popular snorkeling spot near a lighthouse in the Middle Keys.

Witnesses say that the shark slammed into him and bit his shoulder as soon as he entered the water. But without hesitation or regard for her own safety, Eddy's wife, Margot Dukes-Eddy, immediately jumped into the water to rescue him.

"Dukes saw the shark's dorsal fin and then blood filling the water [and], without hesitation, dove into the water and pulled Eddy to the safety of the boat," Monroe County Deputy Christopher Aguanno wrote in a report about the incident.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office said Eddy was taken to the beach where paramedics were waiting before being airlifted to Ryder Trauma Center at Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Upon arrival, his injury was described as "severe." As of Tuesday, Eddy's condition was not available, the Herald reported. A hospital spokesperson indicated that the family was requesting privacy.

"This was a very rare medical crisis for the Florida Keys, but everyone came together — including those witnesses on the boat to 911 Communicators to all our emergency responders — in order to ensure this victim received life-saving care," said Sheriff Rick Ramsay, according to a post on the sheriff's office Facebook page.

Other boaters who were in the area Sunday morning told police that they had seen "8 or 9 foot bull shark" in the water that day.

Eddy and his wife, Dukes-Eddy, were reportedly on a 20-foot open motorboat with her parents, her sister, and her sister's boyfriend on the day of the attack. No other injuries besides Eddy's were reported.

While the presence of sharks in the water in Monroe County is typical, shark attacks are rare. According to the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File, there have only been 17 unprovoked shark attacks in the county since 1882.

Pregnant wife jumps into water in Florida Keys to save husband after shark attack youtu.be