Cuban refugees hail ride to Florida in converted cab

A GROUP of Cubans making the third bid in two years to reach the United States in a vintage American car converted into a boat were intercepted by the US Coast Guard, relatives said on Wednesday.

In their impoverished Havana neighbourhood, tearful mothers implored US authorities to allow the emigres to stay in the United States, saying they would be jailed if returned to Communist-run Cuba.

Thirteen Cubans, including six children, sailed across the Florida Straits in a 1949 Mercury with an built-on prow and a taxi sign on the roof. They were intercepted about 32 km off Key West on the southern tip of Florida on Tuesday morning, Miami television station NBC 6 reported.