In separate actions during the first days of September, Coast Guard cutters picked up 52 Cuban migrants in the waters off of the Bahamas and Key West and returned them to Cuba.
On Sept. 2, Coast Guard 7th District command center watchstanders were notified of a disabled 35-foot boat west of the Bahamas with an unknown amount of suspected migrants aboard. The Coast Guard Cutter Oak arrived on scene and 20 Cuban migrants were transferred aboard, said the Coast Guard. The 20 migrants were later transferred to the cutter Nantucket and repatriated on Sept. 7.
“The U.S. Coast Guard and its partners maintain a robust patrol presence throughout the Caribbean Sea to deter illicit maritime activity,” said Capt. Brendan McPherson, chief of enforcement for the Coast Guard 7th District. “Our main concern is always for the safety of these migrants who are putting their lives at extreme risk in unseaworthy vessels and to protect our nation’s borders by deterring dangerous and illegal activity.”
