The US Coast Guard repatriated 20 of 24 Dominican migrants interdicted from a makeshift boat on Saturday, 9 February 2019, approximately five nautical miles west of Mona Island, Puerto Rico. They were transported back to the DR on board a Dominican navy vessel on Monday, 11 February 2019, the US Coast Guard reported. Four other men were transported to Puerto Rico for federal prosecution for illegally attempting to reenter the United States.
The US Coast Guard reports that since October 2018, US Coast Guard, US federal and Puerto Rico law enforcement partners have interdicted at least 969 migrants and stopped several narcotics smuggling attempts throughout the Sector San Juan area of responsibility.
As reported by the US Coast Guard, the crew of an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft from Coast Guard Air Station Miami, while on a routine patrol of the Mona Passage, detected a 22-foot makeshift wooden boat late Friday night with an undetermined number of passengers aboard transiting towards Puerto Rico. The migrants were continuously bailing out water to prevent their vessel from sinking. On board were 20 men and four women.
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CoastGuard News
13 February 2019
