64 Cuban migrants repatriated after interdictions at sea

The Coast Guard repatriated 64 Cuban migrants who were aboard the Cutter Kathleen Moore Monday after five separate interdictions at sea in the southern Florida Straits.

“The Coast Guard continues to strongly discourage attempts to illegally enter the country by taking to the sea," said Capt. Mark Fedor, the chief of response for the Coast Guard 7th District in a statement. “These trips are extremely dangerous and could lead to loss of life. Once aboard a Coast Guard cutter, we will seek to quickly repatriate illegal migrants to their respective countries.”

Several Coast Guard assets were involved in the interdictions including the Coast Guard cutters Kathleen Moore and William Trump, 154-foot fast response cutters stored in Key West; the Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk, a 270-foot medium endurance cutter also based in Key West; the boat crews from the Coast Guard Station Miami Beach and Coast Guard Station Islamorada and the Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft.

Since Oct. 1, the Coast Guard 7th District estimates that 3,910 Cubans have attempted to illegally migrate by sea.

In August, 65 Cuban migrants were repatriated as a result of six interdictions.

This story was originally published September 8, 2015 at 6:04 PM with the headline "64 Cuban migrants repatriated after interdictions at sea."