Faced with an increase in Haitians seeking to reach the United States by sea, the Coast Guard rescued this Saturday 189 people four kilometers from the coast of the Caribbean country, who were welcomed on the freighter off Cape du Mole, on the northwest coast. of the island.
The rescued Haitians were on an overloaded boat and in poor weather conditions, the Coast Guard said.
The rescue comes as the Coast Guard itself increased patrols in the Caribbean to stop irregular migrant trips by sea.
He indicated that it has “significantly increased its patrolling” in the Windward Passage (Paso de los Vientos), a strait in Caribbean waters between Cuba and the island of Española (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), in the face of the migratory wave of Haitians trying to reach territory American.
“USCG surface and air assets and partner agencies are increasing patrols in the Caribbean,” the USCG Seventh District Twitter account, which oversees custody from South Carolina to the Florida Keys, reported Thursday. and the Caribbean.
In the message they insist that “migration from one country to another must be done legally.”
The migrants will be processed for deportation and turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations.
South Florida is experiencing an increase in maritime migration from Haiti in recent weeks.