Coast Guard Interdicts 50 Haitian Migrants 46 Miles North of Cap-Haïtien

MIAMI — The
Coast Guard interdicted 50 migrants May 21 about 46 miles north of Cap-Haïtien,
Haiti, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release.

At about 5:35
p.m. May 21, the Coast Guard Robert Yered (WPC-1104) crew detected an
overloaded 30-foot panga vessel and launched a small-boat crew to investigate.
The crew then boarded the vessel and discovered 36 Haitian males and 14 Haitian
females.

The Robert
Yered crew safely embarked the migrants and sank the vessel to prevent a hazard
to navigation. The Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant (WMEC-617) crew transferred the
50 Haitian migrants back to their country of origin.

“Bottom
line is these voyages put lives at unnecessary risk,” said Capt. Jason
Ryan, Coast Guard 7th District chief of enforcement. “These voyages often
involve ill-advised agreements with smugglers on poorly equipped, makeshift
vessels that are prone to capsizing, leading to loss of life.”

Approximately
2,474 Haitian migrants have attempted to illegally enter the U.S. via the
maritime environment since May 20 in fiscal year 2019 compared to 2,727 Haitian
migrants in fiscal year 2018. These numbers represent the total number of
at-sea interdictions, landings and disruptions in the Florida Straits, the
Caribbean and Atlantic.

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

The Robert Yered is a
154-foot Sentinel-class cutter homeported in Miami, Florida. The Vigilant is a
210-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Port Canaveral, Florida.