The United States Coast Guard has transferred 20 Cuban nationals to Bahamian authorities following a coordinated rescue effort close to Anguilla Cay, an uninhabited island within the Bahamas.
In line with a press release from the Seventh Coast Guard District, the operation started Friday when Homeland Safety Investigations (HSI) Miami brokers alerted Coast Guard watchstanders a couple of potential group of migrants stranded on Anguilla Cay.
A U.S. Customs and Border Safety (CBP) Air and Marine Operations aircrew confirmed the group’s presence and situation, whereas a Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry plane dropped provides—meals, water, and a radio—to take care of contact with the group.
Bahamian officers formally requested help from the Coast Guard, prompting the deployment of the US Coast Guard Cutter Walnut. The cutter’s crew arrived on scene and introduced the people aboard resulting from “security of life at sea considerations pending their disposition.”
The migrants had been later transferred to the Coast Guard Cutter Margaret Norvell and handed over to Bahamian authorities on Tuesday.
“The Coast Guard continues to work every day with our state, federal, and worldwide companions to cease unlawful maritime migration voyages and to forestall the pointless lack of life at sea,” mentioned Lt. Fernando Pla, obligation enforcement officer for the Seventh Coast Guard District. “Anybody trying to enter the US illegally by sea will likely be interdicted and repatriated to their nation of origin or departure.”
As soon as aboard a Coast Guard vessel, migrants are recognized and supplied with fundamental requirements, together with meals, water, shelter, and medical care, earlier than being repatriated.
The Coast Guard operates as a part of Division of Homeland Safety’s Operation Vigilant Sentry, a multi-agency initiative targeted on maritime border enforcement. The operation spans key migration routes within the Florida Straits, the Windward Passage, the Mona Passage, and the broader Caribbean Sea, using a mixture of air, land, and sea belongings to safeguard lives whereas deterring unlawful migration makes an attempt.
