The New York Times reported today:

Coast Guard data show that as of Friday, 2,683 Cubans had been intercepted at sea this year, nearly double the number for all of 2004. …

The State Department says the new wave of migrants is a result of increasingly repressive policies in Cuba, the island’s crumbling economy and Mr. Castro’s refusal to let more Cubans sign up for a lottery under which the United States is supposed to grant 20,000 visas a year.

Viva la revolucion?