| Office of Public Affairs U.S. Coast Guard Seventh District |
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| Press Release |
Date: October 7, 2004 Contact: LTjg Eric Willis |
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58 DOMINICAN NATIONALS INTERCEPTED AND REPATRIATED IN 11 HOURS SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The Coast Guard Cutter Cushing repatriated 58 Dominican Republic migrants to the Dominican naval vessel Canibus this morning at 7:00. The Coast Guard was notified by a DHS asset last night at 7:30 of the migrant's overloaded wooden yola 20 miles west of Cabo Rojo, headed toward Puerto Rico. The homemade vessel was spotted by a DHS C-12 airplane flying in support of Homeland Security patrols. The Coast Guard Cutter Cushing was directed to intercept the yola while a Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin helicopter relieved the C-12. The helicopter followed the migrants in the yola as it continued to track the yola's progress toward shore. The Cushing intercepted the 25-foot yola, 15 miles southwest of Cabo Rojo, where they found 44 male and 14 female Dominican nationals claiming to have left Miches, Dominican Republic, and had been at sea for three to five days trying to get to Puerto Rico. The migrants were safely transferred aboard the Cushing and transferred to the Dominican navy this morning. Over the last seven days there have been four migrant yolas intercepted in the Mona Passage and 78 people repatriated. The Cushing is a 110-foot patrol boat from San Juan, Puerto Rico. ### The U.S. Coast Guard is a military, maritime, multi-mission service within the |
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