‘Large group’ of migrants in small boat stopped off Key Biscayne
The U.S. Coast Guard stopped a boat off Miami-Dade County last week carrying people from at least five different countries trying to enter the country illegally, federal authorities said Monday.
The 25-foot boat was intercepted about 18 nautical miles off Key Biscayne Friday afternoon, said Nestor Yglesias, spokesman for U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.
The countries of origins of the people on board include the Bahamas, Brazil, Haiti, Jamaica and Peru, he said.
Yglesias said he could not say the exact number of people on the boat because it was “part of an ongoing investigation.”
The incident was first reported by John R. Modlin, Border Patrol Sector Miami chief patrol agent, in a statement on Twitter Monday morning.
He said Border Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations agents “took custody of a large number of illegal aliens from multiple countries” after their vessel was stopped by the Coast Guard.
This story was originally published March 16, 2020 at 7:30 PM.
