Coast Guard repatriates 11 Dominican migrants, returns 12 Haitians to Dominican Republic
The Coast Guard repatriated 11 Dominican migrants and returned 12 Haitians to the Dominican Republic on Saturday, Aug. 28.
The people were found two days earlier on a 25-foot, makeshift boat in the Mona Passage, a strait separating the islands of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. The Mona Passage connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea, and is often used as a shipping route between the Atlantic and the Panama Canal.
The interdiction, via the Cutter Winslow Griesser, is part of an ongoing Coast Guard and Caribbean Border Interagency group partnership aimed at deterring and stopping illegal voyages in the Mona Passage.
Since Oct. 1, 2020, the two groups, along with federal and state partner agencies, have halted 2,100 migrants who were deemed to be traveling illegally to Puerto Rico, according to the Coast Guard.
Coast Guard warning
Coast Guard officials urged those who hope to take similar voyages at seas illegally to rethink.
In a media release, Cmdr. Beau Powers, Sector San Juan chief of response said, “Your life will be at risk, as will the lives of everyone aboard the vessel. The perils are many, including traveling with ruthless smugglers, aboard grossly overloaded makeshift vessels, in dangerous sea states, with little or no lifesaving equipment onboard. Those making this voyage should expect to be returned to their country of origin and also may face prosecution. The dangers are real, please don’t trust your life to a smuggler or in a makeshift vessel.”
How it happened
The interdiction happened Thursday afternoon, after a Customs and Border Protection marine patrol aircraft crew spotted a migrant vessel, about 42 nautical miles north of Mona Island, Puerto Rico. The cutter Winslow Griesser, based in San Juan, was sent out and found the migrants’ makeshift boat that carried 11 Dominicans, 11 Haitian adults and one Haitian minor.
The Winslow Griesser crew transferred the adults to a Dominican Republic Navy vessel just outside Santo Domingo in Dominican Republic. The minor was transferred to local authorities ashore from the Santo Domingo-based Childrens and Adolescents National Council, according to the Coast Guard.
Haiti relief efforts
Meantime, the Coast Guard announced it is continuing its recovery mission in Haiti following the Aug. 14 earthquake, as are the U.S military and other relief groups.
