2006 Press Releases
U.S. Coast Guard assists with another successful interception of illegal Haitian nationals
November 15, 2006
On Monday November 13, a 210-foot Coast Guard ship assigned to patrol the Windward Passage, intercepted a 40- foot Haitian sloop 20 miles southwest of Matthew Town, Great Inagua. During initial communications between the Coast Guard ship and the Haitian boat, the driver of the sloop stated there were only 25 persons aboard his vessel, a number that did not appear to match the visual count made by the U.S. Coast Guard. After conducting an exact count of total persons on the vessel, the Coast Guard crew confirmed there were actually 105 illegal Haitian migrants crammed aboard the small sloop. Due to the overloaded conditions and the lack of seaworthiness of the sloop, all personnel on board were voluntarily transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard ship and were repatriated back to Haiti on November 15.
This is the second intercept made by U.S. Coast Guard ships in the Windward Passage within the last month, preventing illegal migration efforts of 240 Haitian migrants from reaching Bahamian shores. U.S. Coast Guard helicopters and fixed wing aircraft in the Windward Passage are also credited with assisting Bahamian forces with the detection of 157 Haitian migrants that landed on Ragged Island on November 6.