Thirty-one Cubans, one Dominican and a Jamaican were trying to reach Puerto Rico yesterday when they were stopped by the Dominican Navy. The group was allegedly attempting to board a boat that was to take them to the neighboring island. Navy spokesman Alejandro Liriano told reporters that each of the Cubans had paid US$2,000 for their passage. Along with these would-be passengers, the navy seized an unknown quantity of dollars, three vehicles, life-vests, and a 20-foot launch. The 17 men, 13 women and one baby girl were taken into custody near the community of Cumayasa in La Romana province, where the organizers opened fire on the members of the military patrol and escaped. Meanwhile, the United States Coast Guard has announced that two more bodies have been recovered from the capsized boat stolen from Bayahibe last weekend. Dramatic photos in both Hoy and Diario Libre show the dangers of these illegal voyages to foreign shores. The fate of Juan Rijo, the purported captain of the capsized vessel, is unknown at this time. The ship Venturous will arrive today with the 13 known survivors. Venturous was scheduled to arrive on Monday to distribute humanitarian supplies to flood victims that resulted from last May?s downpours, but spent the past several days searching for survivors of the accident.
The US Border Patrol reports that on 15 July at 6:50 am a group of nine Cuban nationals (five males and four females) were discovered on Mona Island after being dropped off by smugglers. The undocumented Cubans said they had departed from Miches in the Dominican Republic on the morning of 14 July and paid US$500 each for the smuggling venture.
According to the US Border Patrol, the total number of unlawful migrants attempting to enter Puerto Rico during fiscal year 2004 to date, to include those intercepted by law enforcement and repatriated directly back to the DR by the US Coast Guard is 6,921, as opposed to 3,477 for all of fiscal year 2003. The US Coast Guard reports that 189 Cubans have been detained during FY04, compared to 76 in FY03 and 9 in FY02.