SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Coast Guard cutter Kathleen Moore returned 40 migrants to the Dominican Republic between Tuesday and Wednesday after an illegal vessel was seized in the Mona Strait waters near Puerto Rico.
This ban is the result of continued efforts by multiple local and federal agencies in support of the Caribbean Border Interagency Group (CBIG).
During a routine patrol late Sunday night, the crew of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection multipurpose enforcement aircraft spotted a severely overloaded makeshift boat north of Puerto Rico’s Mona Island. Coast Guard observers in the San Juan area diverted Coast Guard cutter Kathleen Moore from conducting the interdiction. When they arrived on scene, cutter Kathleen Moore came alongside and safely loaded 40 people from the 25-foot blue wooden vessel. Those detained included five men and two women who claimed Haitian citizenship, including a minor. There were also 31 men and two women who claimed to be citizens of the Dominican Republic.
The Coast Guard transferred 38 of the migrants to Dominican naval authorities in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on Tuesday, and transferred the minor and his mother to representatives of the Dominican Republic’s National Council for Children and Youth (CONANI) on Wednesday.
“If you are thinking of participating in an illegal voyage, please do not go to sea. Your life is at risk,” the commander said. Gerald Wenk, San Juan District Response Director. “These voyages are extremely dangerous, as they are conducted on unseaworthy vessels with no life-saving equipment, and if caught, there is a risk of prosecution and possible future inability to legally enter the United States.” There is also sex.”
From October 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023, the Coast Guard conducted 25 illegal navigation interdictions in the Mona Strait and waters near Puerto Rico. During this period, 777 non-Americans were detained, including 568 Dominicans, 195 Haitians, 13 Venezuelans, and 01 people of unknown nationality.
Cutter Kathleen Moore is a 154-foot fast-response cutter homeported in Miami.
If you are a U.S. resident and have questions about a family member who may have been detained at sea, please contact your local U.S. agent. Relatives living outside the United States should contact their local U.S. embassy.
CBIG was formally created to unite the efforts of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. District Attorney’s Office for Puerto Rico, and the Puerto Rico Police Rapid Action Joint Unit. A common goal: securing Puerto Rico’s borders from illegal immigration and drug smuggling.
