Florida Keys

Coast Guard stops 33 migrants from Haiti. Packages of marijuana were floating nearby.

By David Goodhue
A migrant vessel is shown in the Caribbean after an interdiction in April 2019. The Coast Guard Cutter Spencer crew transferred 33 Haitian nationals back to their home of origin on April 12 after stopping their 25-foot motor vessel on April 10.
A migrant vessel is shown in the Caribbean after an interdiction in April 2019. The Coast Guard Cutter Spencer crew transferred 33 Haitian nationals back to their home of origin on April 12 after stopping their 25-foot motor vessel on April 10. U.S. Coast Guard photo

The U.S. Coast Guard repatriated 33 people from Haiti Friday who had been stopped at sea heading for South Florida earlier this week.

The 27 men and six women were in a 25-foot “overloaded” motorboat about 35 miles northeast of Tortuga, Haiti, according to a Coast Guard press release.

The Coast Guard Cutter Spencer launched a patrol boat to intercept the migrants’ vessel. Before they reached it, they picked up six “softball-sized” packages of marijuana floating about 100 yards away from the boat.

After boarding the boat, the Coast Guard crew found three more packages of marijuana and a package of amphetamines, according to the press release.

The migrants were taken on board the Spencer, and the Coast Guard destroyed the boat “as a hazard to navigation,” the press release states.

This story was originally published April 12, 2019 at 11:51 AM.

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