(Refiles to remove erroneous words ‘Security Secretary’ in 2nd paragraph)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States has contingency plans and a “robust presence” in the Florida Straits if it has to deal with any increased flow of migrants fleeing Cuba by sea during the latest unrest, a senior Biden administration official said on Thursday.
The official, speaking on condition on anonymity, reiterated U.S. Homeland Alejandro Mayorkas’ admonition for Cuban migrants not to head for U.S. shores and said a senior Cuban official’s threat of “mass migration” reflects “a lack of care for the lives of Cubans who would risk their lives to come to the United States.”
(Reporting By Matt Spetalnick, Daphne Psaledakis, Nandita Bose; Editing by Chris Reese)