The U.S. Coast Guard repatriated 83 illegal aliens to Haiti on Monday and 273 to Cuba on Sunday after they were intercepted in the Florida Keys over the New Year period.
The Coast Guard said it continues to intercept and rescue illegal aliens from overloaded and unseaworthy vessels and warned that those interdicted at sea would be repatriated.
In a statement about the 83 Haitians repatriated on Monday, Lt. Travis Poulos said Coast Guard District Seven and partner agencies continue to patrol the Florida Straits, Windward, and Mona passages.
“These ventures are extremely dangerous and could cost you your life,” Poulos said.
The Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk’s crew departs Matanzas, Cuba, following a repatriation of Cuban illegal aliens to Cuba on Jan. 8, 2023. (Lt. Cmdr. Ryan Newmeyer/U.S. Coast Guard)
The 83 Haitians were first spotted in a sailing vessel by a West Palm Beach Coast Guard crew near Hobe Sound on Jan. 2, then again by a good Samaritan on Jan. 4 about five miles east of Key Lago—around 156 miles apart. There were men, women, and children aboard, according to the Coast Guard….