A U.S. Coast Guard crew transferred 82 Haitians and Cubans — including babies — to Bahamian authorities late last week after they were stopped in the country’s waters, the military branch said Sunday.
The Florida Keys-based crew handed over 67 Haitians and 15 Cubans to the Royal Bahamian Defence Force on Friday after they were detained near Anguilla Cay — over 100 miles southwest of Key West — in two separate stops, the Coast Guard told the Herald in a news release.
Migrants are taken to the Bahamas when they are found in Bahamian waters. Only hours before the transfer, the crew spotted an overloaded chug, or small boat, on Friday, taking 15 Cuban men aboard “for safety of life at sea concerns,” according to the Coast Guard.
On April 11, another crew found an overloaded sail freighter, bringing 51 men, 10 women and six children — all Haitians — aboard due to safety concerns. 1000w_q75 (1).jpg Coast Guard Cutter Campbell’s small boat crew stopping people aboard a overloaded vessel near Anguilla Cay, Bahamas, 11, 2022.
Coast Guard Cutter Charles Sexton crew transferred the 67 Haitians aboard the overloaded vessel to Bahamian authorities.
U.S. Coast Guard $2 for 2 months Subscribe for unlimited access to our website, app, eEdition and more CLAIM OFFER “These types of voyages are extremely dangerous,” said Lt. Cmdr. Jason Neiman, Coast Guard District Seven public affairs officer.
“If our cutters were not patrolling the waters, who knows what would have happened to these people.” READ MORE: Coast Guard returns 109 Haitian migrants who were stopped at sea days earlier baby.jpg Coast Guard Cutter Campbell’s crew member feeding a baby near Anguilla Cay, Bahamas, April 11, 2022.
Coast Guard Cutter Charles Sexton crew transferred 67 Haitians to Bahamian authorities after the Cutter Campbell crew stopped them. U.S. Coast Guard The Coast Guard tallies the number of migrants detained by fiscal year, which begin in October and end in September of the next year. Since Oct. 1 of last year,
Coast Guard crews have stopped 3,519 Haitian migrants compared to: 1,527 Haitian migrants in Fiscal Year 2021 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
