U.S. Coast Guard crews repatriated 311 migrants to their home country after a human smuggling interdiction at sea. The crews found the large group of Haitian migrants on an overloaded boat off the coast of Cuba.
A Coast Guard C-130 aircrew from the Clearwater Station spotted the vessel on February 15 and alerted the nearest cutter. The cutters James, Tampa, Isaac Mayo, and Vigilant arrived to find the boat overloaded with more than 300 migrants.
#Final @USCG Cutters Tampa, Viligant’s crews repatriated 311 Haitians, Mon.
“#USCG, partner agency crews continue to patrol the Florida Straits, Windward & Mona passages… pic.twitter.com/31p9FoxPhZ
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) February 20, 2023
As none of the migrants were wearing personal flotation devices, the rescue crew distributed life jackets before transferring the migrants to the ship. The boat appears to be listing to starboard as it took on water.
“…Our crews our doing their best to stop ppl from illegally entering the U.S. & to discourage ppl from risking their lives by taking to the sea.” – Lt. Hutchison, USCG.
Read more: https://t.co/hquSrah2hW@USEmbassyHaiti #DontTakeToTheSea pic.twitter.com/TFTaIZC6Bw
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) February 20, 2023
Passengers on the boat included 311 Haitians including men, women, and children, officials stated. All were reported to be in good condition.
Soon after the migrants were removed, officials said the boat sank with “no pollution concerns.”
Once loaded on the Coast Guard cutters, the crews returned the migrants to Haiti.
Since the beginning of FY23 (October 1, 2022) Coast Guard crews successfully interdicted 3,117 Haitian migrants at sea. The Coast Guard reported prior year apprehensions to include:
- 7,175 Haitian Migrants in Fiscal Year 2022
- 1,527 Haitian Migrants in Fiscal Year 2021
- 418 Haitian Migrants in Fiscal Year 2020
- 932 Haitian Migrants in Fiscal Year 2019
- 609 Haitian Migrants in Fiscal Year 2018
- 419 Haitian Migrants in Fiscal Year 2017
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Face
