SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Tezanos rescued 14 migrants, Sunday, who were left stranded by smugglers on the uninhabited natural reserve of Monito Island, Puerto Rico, in the Mona Passage.
The rescue involved efforts and coordination with Caribbean Border Interagency Group (CBIG) partner agencies and Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources Park Rangers.
Coast Guard watch standers in San Juan, Puerto Rico received a communication from Puerto Rico Natural and Environmental Resources on Mona Island reporting flashlight signaling from Monito Island potentially coming from stranded migrants on the uninhabited natural reserve. Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Tezanos and the aircrew of a Coast Guard HC-144 aircraft responded to provide rescue assistance. Once on-scene, the crew of cutter Joseph Tezanos confirmed the report and provided life jackets to 14 migrants, six men, five women and three minors, who claimed to be Haitian nationals.
The Coast Guard boat crew provided instructions to each migrant for them to hold onto a life ring wearing a life jacket and jump into the water. Once in the water, the Coast Guard boat crew safely recovered each migrant. The Coast Guard boat crew had to recover one migrant who sustained injuries on Monito Island and was unconscious. The rescued migrants were safely embarked aboard cutter Joseph Tezanos, while the injured migrant regained consciousness and was stabilized with the assistance of the cutter's Emergency Medical Technician.
All 14 migrants were transferred to the custody of Ramey Sector U.S Border Patrol agents in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, where Emergency Medical Service personnel rendered assistance, received the injured migrant, and transported him to a local hospital.
“Landings on Monito Island are incredibly dangerous for both non-citizens and the Coast Guard rescue teams,” said Lt. Kali B. Carmine, Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Tezanos commanding officer. “These unlawful voyages are not worth the risk for which we urge migrants to not take to the sea and seek legal migration pathways. During this rescue, my boat crew and coxswain demonstrated exceptional ingenuity and grit in deploying the surface swimmer to rescue an unconscious man from the jagged cliff face and direct the remaining 13 migrants to safety. We are crewed with incomparable talent, including a top-of-the-line EMT, who was able to render appropriate first aid and stabilize an injured migrant for transport and transfer to Emergency Medical Service personnel. I am very proud of the brilliant lifesaving efforts of this crew.”
Migrants who are interdicted at sea or apprehended ashore will not be allowed to stay in the United States or a U.S. territory. Furthermore, anyone who arrives unlawfully may be declared ineligible for legal immigration parole options and be repatriated to their country of origin or returned to the country of departure.
The Coast Guard, along with its Homeland Security Task Force – Southeast partners, maintains a continual presence with air, land, and sea assets in the Florida Straits, the Windward Passage, the Mona Passage, and the Caribbean Sea in support of Operation Vigilant Sentry. The HSTF-SE combined, multi-layered approach is designed to protect the safety of life at sea while preventing unlawful maritime entry to the United States and its territories.
CBIG was formally created to unify efforts of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Puerto Rico, and Puerto Rico Police Joint Forces of Rapid Action, in their common goal of securing the borders of Puerto Rico against illegal smuggling of migrants and illicit contraband.
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