| Office of Public Affairs U.S. Coast Guard Seventh District |
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| Press Release |
Date: August 28, 2004 Contact: LTjg Eric Willis |
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FOUR MIGRANT BOATS STOPPED IN THREE DAYS More than 160 people stopped or turned back SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Since Thursday morning four boatloads of Dominican Republic migrants have been intercepted attempting to cross the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico. The series of interdictions began when a yola carrying 14 people was stopped southeast of the Dominican Republic by the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Chincoteague, followed shortly by a Forces United For Rapid Action (FURA) interception of nine migrants approximately one mile off the southwest coast of Puerto Rico. 22 of the migrants were safely transported back to the Dominican Republic aboard the Chincoteague, one person from the boatload of nine was identified by FURA agents as the vessel master and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico for possible prosecution of human smuggling. Friday afternoon, a Coast Guard C-130 from Airstation Clearwater, Fla. spotted a yola northwest of Cabo Engano, Dominican Republic. Coast Guard Cutter Ocracoke was diverted and located the boat at 6:15 p.m. The yola, with approximately 77 people aboard, was 30 miles from the Samana Peninsula headed back to the Dominican Republic. When approached by a small boat crew from Ocracoke, the migrants made threatening gestures and continued their progress back to the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Navy was contacted and the crew of Ocracoke with its small boat deployed continued to escort the overloaded boat for safety. The yola eventually beached itself and the migrants fled the scene. Later last night, a Coast Guard HU-25 Falcon Jet from Miami, located a 35-foot wooden migrant yola approximately 22 miles northeast of Cabo Engano, Dominican Republic. Chincoteague and Ocracoke were diverted to intercept. The crew of the Chincoteague was first on scene assisted now by an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Borinquen. Ocracoke then arrived and the two crews removed a total of 51 migrants from the yola. The yola was destroyed as a hazard to navigation and the migrants were transferred from the Ocracoke to Dominican Navy authorities in Santo Domingo today. In the last eleven months more than 5,700 Dominican Republic nationals have been intercepted at sea trying to illegally enter Puerto Rico and the United States. More than 100 have lost their lives making this treachersous crossing in the same period. ### The U.S. Coast Guard is a military, maritime, multi-mission service within the |
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