Coast Guard stops 13 Cuban migrants about 105 miles off Key West

The U.S. Coast Guard on Oct. 13 helped Bahamian authorities stop two illegal boat trips by Cuban migrants about 105 miles off Key West.

A Coast Guard air crew spotted two vessels with a total of 13 Cuban migrants aboard in Bahamian waters off the southern coast of Cay Sal Bank.

Working with Bahamian authorities, a team aboard the Coast Guard cutter Isaac Mayo transferred the migrants to the vessel. They were later transferred to a Royal Bahamas Defence Force ship.

“With the consistent danger these smuggling ventures present, our crews remain vigilant to protect lives and enforce maritime laws,” said Lt. Cmdr. Nicholas Zieser, commanding officer of the Isaac Mayo.

This was the Coast Guard’s first Cuban migrant interdiction of fiscal year 2021, which began Oct. 1.

In fiscal year 2020, the Coast Guard crews stopped 140 Cuban migrants who tried to illegally migrate on the water.

These numbers represent the total number of at-sea interdictions, landings and disruptions in the Florida Straits, the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean.

All migrants receive food, water, shelter and basic medical attention once aboard a Coast Guard cutter, the Coast Guard said in a news release.

“Throughout the interdiction, Coast Guard crew members were equipped with personal protective equipment to minimize potential exposure to any possible case of COVID-19,” according to the statement.

This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 2:57 PM.

Gwen Filosa

Miami Herald

Gwen Filosa covers Key West and the Lower Florida Keys for FLKeysNews.com and the Miami Herald and lives in Key West. She was part of the staff at the New Orleans Times-Picayune that in 2005 won two Pulitzer Prizes for coverage of Hurricane Katrina. She graduated from Indiana University.