Two suspected smugglers were taken into custody Sunday when the U.S. Coast Guard rescued 19 Haitian migrants from the waters off Dominican Republic after a smuggling vessel capsized and left one migrant dead.
According to the Coast Guard, an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter on Sunday detected a suspected smuggling vessel transiting to Puerto Rico, 27 nautical miles west of Mona Island. Coast Guard Sector San Juan diverted the Coast Guard cutter Key Largo to interdict the vessel and a Customs and Border Protection aircraft launched to assist.
The suspected smugglers changed course towards the Dominican Republic after they were spotted.
"In a desperate attempt to avoid law enforcement authorities, the suspected smugglers allegedly forced migrants overboard from an already unseaworthy vessel and caused the vessel to capsize," the Coast Guard said in its Thursday news release.
The crew of Key Largo recovered 22 people from the water, including eight Haitian women, 11 Haitian men, two Dominican Republic nationals and a deceased Haitian man.
Officials said it again illustrated that, no matter how desperate people might be, trusting smugglers is not a smart move.
“I implore all those thinking about taking to the sea and placing their lives into the hands of ruthless and cowardly smugglers to not put their lives at risk,” said Capt. Drew Pearson, Coast Guard Sector San Juan commander. “The smugglers don’t care about you and they will leave you to the perils of the sea if it means saving their own skin. In this case we saved 21 lives, including the lives of the suspected smugglers who placed all in danger. One Haitian man suffered a more tragic fate and lost his life; our most heartfelt condolences go out to his family and friends on their loss of their loved one.”
The Coast Guard provided the migrants food, water, shelter and basic medical attention aboard the cutter. On Tuesday, the Coast Guard cutter Matinicus returned the Haitian migrants to La Romana, in the Dominican Republic.
The Key Largo transferred the suspected smugglers to U.S. federal law enforcement agents from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations in Puerto Rico.
It was Key Largo’s second run-in with smugglers willing to trade human lives for their own safety. On June 18, the cutter was chasing a boatload of refugees in the Mona Passage, west of Puerto Rico, when the smugglers forced two of the human cargo, one an 8-year-old, over the side. Key Largo’s crew was able to rescue the two refugees and still help chase down the ship.
The Coast Guard Cutters Matinicus and Key Largo are 110-foot patrol boats. They both call San Juan, Puerto Rico, their homeport.