PHOTO AVAILABLE: Coast Guard transfers 14 migrants to Bahamas

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

PHOTO AVAILABLE: Coast Guard transfers 14 migrants to Bahamas

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MIAMI — Coast Guard Cutter Manatee's crew transferred 14 migrants to Bahamian authorities, Monday.

Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations agents contacted Coast Guard Sector Miami watchstanders at 6:30 a.m., Saturday, after locating a suspicious vessel approximately 13 miles east of Baker's Haulover Inlet, Florida. 

A Customs and Border Protection law enforcement small boat crew intercepted the vessel and the migrants were transferred aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Manatee.

There were 21 people aboard the vessel: four Haitian adult males, three Haitian male minors, one Haitian female minor, six Haitian adult females, two Jamaican adult males, one Saint Kitts and Nevis adult male, three Dominican males and one Bahamian male.

Three migrants, including the suspected smuggler, were transferred to Homeland Security Investigations personnel for further investigation.

Four migrants were medically evacuated to a higher level of care due to reports of severe dehydration.

Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations took custody of the migrant vessel.

"We urge any person thinking of taking part in an illegal voyage to not take to the sea," said Cmdr. Eric Pare, a search and rescue mission coordinator at Sector Miami Command Center. “Taking to the seas on unsafe vessels is dangerous and can result in loss of life.”

Since Oct, 1, 2020, Coast Guard crews have interdicted 486 Haitian migrants compared to: 

• 418 Haitian Migrants in Fiscal Year 2020
• 932 Haitian Migrants in Fiscal Year 2019
• 609 Haitian Migrants in Fiscal Year 2018
• 419 Haitian Migrants in Fiscal Year 2017

Interdictions include the total number of at-sea interdictions, landings and disruptions in the Florida Straits, Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean.

Once aboard a Coast Guard cutter, all migrants receive food, water, shelter and basic medical attention. Throughout the interdiction, Coast Guard crew members were equipped with personal protective equipment to minimize potential exposure to any possible case of COVID-19.

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-USCG-