A raft with an American flag painted on its side and filled with Cuban refugees was intercepted by the Cuban Coast Guard off the coast of Havana on Monday. About a dozen refugees were apprehended and arrested by the Cuban regime, despite a couple of them jumping into the ocean and attempting to swim back to shore to escape arrest.

Cubans escaping the island on rafts and rickety boats is nothing new, but what made this case interesting is that it took place in the middle of the day within easy view of anyone on Havana’s Malecon.

Reporting in its usual Granma Lite style, the AP feigned bewilderment at the interception and arrest of refugees taking place right in front of their eyes, despite the fact they knew exactly what was going on:

[DS–Hmmm. Isn’t it kind of the Cubans to rescue these America-bound Cubans from a fate worse than death…freedom]