CUBA . . . STANDOFF'S OFF, BUT BOATS KEEP COMING

The stalemate between Cuban authorities and several hundred refugees who forcibly occupied an oil tanker in the port of Mariel ended after little more than a day when the group agreed to leave the boat and stay home. But others kept trying for the U.S. On Monday, 270 rafters were found in the Straits of Florida, bringing to 6,056 the number of Cuban refugees picked up off U.S. waters by the Coast Guard since the beginning of the year. One of the most dramatic tales of escape: an eight-year-old Cuban boy was found clinging to a piece of wood. His parents had strapped a life vest on him as the boat they rode in sank.