| Office of Public Affairs U.S. Coast Guard Seventh District |
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| Press Release |
Date: March 10, 2004 Contact: |
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125 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MIGRANTS INTERCEPTED OFF PUERTO RICO U.S. Coast Guard and Dominican Republic Navy join efforts SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A group of illegal Dominican Republic migrants is safe aboard a Dominican Republic Navy vessel after being spotted this morning in a grossly overloaded and unseaworthy 40-foot boat 55 miles northwest of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter. The helicopter, an HH-60 Jayhawk based in Clearwater, Fla., maintained survelliance in case the migrants ran into trouble on the water. It was relieved by a Coast Guard HU-25 Falcon jet from Miami which continued to watch as the Coast Guard Cutter Reliance headed toward the migrants. After arriving, the cutter stood by the smuggling boat until the Dominican Republic Navy Vessel Bellatrix, an 85-foot patrol boat operating from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, also reached the migrants' location. The crews of the cutter and the patrol boat then worked together using small boats to safely embark the 125 migrants aboard the Bellatrix. Thus far, 2,436 Dominican Republic migrants have been intercepted at sea during 2004 compared to 1,469 intercepted during 2003. The Cutter Reliance is 210-foot medium endurance cutter based in Portsmouth, N.H. ### The U.S. Coast Guard is a military, maritime, multi-mission service within the |
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