Hoy newspaper journalist Domingo Páez says that there are Cubans and Chinese, and Colombians and in lesser amount Dominicans that pay from RD$20,000 to RD$50,000 for a one way ticket to Puerto Rico using a service that has strong ties in Puerto Rico to practically guarantee a safe trip and entry into that island for the illegal boat people. Páez explains that this route includes a transfer in the midst of the Mona Channel to a Puerto Rican registry yacht. These boat trips have never lost a passenger. Normally these groups are no more than 10 persons, except in the case of the Chinese. Eugenio Cabral, director of Civil Defense, said that this trafficking of persons "moves millions of dollars" a year. He said that these trips have the support of influential sectors of the province.
