PHOTO RELEASE: Coast Guard interdicts 13 migrants, suspected smuggler 25 miles east of Miami

News Release

U.S. Coast Guard 7th District Southeast Contact: 7th District Public Affairs Office: 305-415-6683 After Hours: 786-367-7649 7th District online newsroom

Coast Guard interdicts 13 migrants, suspected smuggler 25 miles east of Miami

 

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MIAMI — The Coast Guard interdicted 13 migrants and one suspected smuggler Saturday 25 miles east of Miami.

The Coast Guard Cutter William Trump (WPC-1111) crew detected a westbound 21-foot cabin cruiser approximately 25 miles east of Miami heading towards Southeast Florida. Upon detection, the cabin cruiser crew reversed their course to go east toward the Bahamas. The cutter William Trump crew stopped the vessel and discovered six Jamaican migrants, six Haitian migrants, one Guyanese migrant and the suspected smuggler, a Bahamian national, aboard.

A Coast Guard Station Miami Beach 45-foot Response Boat—Medium crew transferred the 11 migrants and the suspected smuggler ashore to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for further investigation and the Coast Guard Cutter Margaret Norvell (WPC-1105) crew transferred only two of the Haitian migrants to the Bahamian Immigration Department.

"The Coast Guard continues to maintain a focused and coordinated effort with multiple agency assets to interdict any attempt to dangerously and unlawfully immigrate by sea to the United States," said Lt. Cmdr. Mark Cobb, Coast Guard Sector Miami chief of enforcement. "These illegal migrant smuggling ventures are extremely dangerous, especially during the hurricane season, and places families in danger of being lost at sea."

Once aboard a Coast Guard cutter, all migrants receive food, water, shelter, and basic medical attention.

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-USCG-