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Coast Guard repatriates
40 Cubans, 162 Haitians to homelands
Sun-Sentinel,
June 1 2005.
MIAMI - The U.S. Coast Guard on Wednesday
said it repatriated 40 Cuban migrants to
Bahia de Cabanas, Cuba, at 10 a.m. and 162
Haitian migrants in Port-au-Prince, Haiti,
at noon.
The 40 Cuban migrants were intercepted
by the Coast Guard aboard five different
rustic vessels found in the Florida Straits
between May 22 and the 24th.
Determination of a migrant's status is
made by the U.S. Government and coordinated
by Homeland Security immigration officials.
The 162 Haitians were discovered by the
Royal Bahamian Defense Force, which notified
the Coast Guard at 2:49 p.m. on Friday of
a sail freighter in the vicinity of Cay
Lobos, Bahamas. Two hundred people were
thought on the vessel.
The boatl stopped 60 miles south of Andros
Island, Bahamas. The cutter Confidence boarded
and gave each person a lifejacket and safely
embarked all 162 migrant from the grossly
overcrowded sailboat. The vessel was destroyed
as a hazard to navigation.
Once on board Coast Guard cutters, migrants
receive, food, water, and any medical attention
needed before being returned to their homeland.
Since January, the Coast Guard has interdicted
1,344 Haitian migrants at sea. In May, 411
Haitian migrants were interdicted at sea.
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