The wooden boat looked suspicious. Then the Coast Guard stepped in
A concerned boater called the Coast Guard on Monday after spotting a suspicious wooden boat near Boca Raton.
When crews arrived, they found six Cuban migrants aboard the 15-foot boat, the agency said.
The six men, who were given food, water and basic medical attention, will now be returned to their homeland, according to the Coast Guard.
“People attempting to illegally enter the United States put their lives and their loved ones at risk,” Petty Officer 1st Class Paula Verden, Coast Guard Sector Miami command center, said in a news release. “These unseaworthy crafts do not have navigational or safety equipment on board, exposing its occupants to a tragic scenario.”
In recent days, the Coast Guard has stopped several boats with migrants aboard. On Aug. 1, the Coast Guard stopped a 27-foot boat off Government Cut that didn’t have proper lighting. They found seven migrants, a suspected smuggler and 67 packages of marijuana, the Coast Guard said. On July 31, a boat named Bada Bing was stopped in the waters near Hollywood. Crews found three Brazilian migrants, one Jamaican migrant and two suspected smugglers aboard the 37-foot pleasure craft. A week before, the Coast Guard stopped a boat near Fort Lauderdale that had 12 Chinese migrants aboard.
This story was originally published August 7, 2019 at 10:54 PM.
