The crew of the Coast Guard Joseph Doyle returned 44 immigrants to the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, after intercepting the two boats in which they were traveling in water off the west coast of Puerto Rico. According to authorities, the coast guard handed over the migrants to a Dominican Republic Navy ship in waters near Punta Cana.
The first intercepted vessel was detected by the crew of a Customs and Border Protection multipurpose aircraft on Monday northwest of the Puerto Rican municipality of Aguadilla. “A trip on the open sea in an overloaded and unsafe vessel like one of these yolas is extremely dangerous.” said David S. Radin, Coast Guard Commanding Officer Joseph Doyle.
This same week, a group of 33 immigrants was captured, detained by the Puerto Rico Police, while they were sailing along the coast of the northwestern municipality of Aguadilla on the island. According to the United Rapid Action Forces (FURA) of Aguadilla, the boat was about 12 miles from Punta Borinquen.
According to the authorities, the 30-foot boat was carrying 29 men and 4 women, the nationality of the migrants has not been disclosed. In addition to that, the group of 33 migrants were handed over at sea to United States Coast Guard personnel, who took charge of the crew and the vessel.
This same month, the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) reported that a total of 57 immigrants were abandoned by a group of smugglers who were transporting them near the west coast of Puerto Rico. So far, the criminal group has not been captured for these actions against the 57 victims.
With information from EFE
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