U.S. Coast Guard intercepts boat with more than 300 Haitians

An “overloaded” vessel carrying more than 300 Haitians was intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard before reaching the coast of this country, the institution reported Thursday.

The Coast Guard reported on social networks the interception this Wednesday, without specifying where, of a “vessel motorboat of 80 feet in length (24 meters), overloaded“, which was attempting to “illegally” reach U.S. shores.

The group of Haitians intercepted was composed of men, women and children, he added.

They are at least the second recent massive attempt of Haitians attempting to reach U.S. shores by sea.

At the end of last January the coast guard intercepted a sailing vessel in Bahamian waters, carrying more than 390 Haitians.

A video released at the time by the Coast Guard showed aerial images of a precarious sailing vessel crammed with migrants.which was probably sailing towards the Florida coast at the time of the interception.

The Haitians were picked up by a Coast Guard vessel and transferred to Bahamian authoritiesprobably for repatriation.

Had she made landfall the sailboat in the Florida Keys, in the southernmost tip of the state, it would have been the largest arrival of migrants in South Florida. in decades, noted local newspaper Miami Herald.

On their twitter account, the Coast Guard has reminded that. “the Florida Straits passages, Leeward and Mona, are unpredictable and dangerous”.especially in unseaworthy vessels”.

Border Patrol (CBP) Miami Sector chief Walter N. Slosar recently reported on Twitter that as of Oct. 1, 2022, the Miami sector of Miami experienced an increase over the previous year of up to 400 percent of people arriving by sea irregularly and being detained upon disembarkation.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) recently reported on the increased monitoring of Florida’s coasts in the face of “mass migration.” detected and following the declaration of a state of emergency by the governor, Republican Ron DeSantis.