MIAMI – Coast Guard Cutter Margaret Norvell's crew returned 31 aliens of mixed nationalities to The Bahamas, Friday, following three interdictions of illegal maritime ventures in U.S. territorial waters east of Miami.
Four suspected smugglers were transferred ashore to Homeland Security Investigations agent custody to support further investigation for potential federal prosecution.
The Margaret Norvell crew notified Coast Guard Sector Miami command center watchstanders, Sunday, of a 25-foot recreational vessel transiting west at a high rate of speed from The Bahamas to Florida with no navigation lights. Sector Miami watchstanders launched a Coast Guard Station Miami Beach boat crew and diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Richard Etheridge crew while Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations launched a coastal intercept vessel crew to respond. CBP-AMO gained positive control of the non-compliant vessel, and the Margaret Norvell crew embarked all 22 people onboard. The aliens were of Jamaican, Haitian and Chinese nationalities.
A Coast Guard Station Lake Worth Inlet boat crew and a Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office marine patrol unit interdicted a vessel with two people onboard, Wednesday. The suspected smuggler was transferred to HSI for further investigation and the other, a Honduran alien, was transferred to Border Patrol agents to be processed for expedited removal.
Sector Miami watchstanders were notified, Wednesday, of a CBP-AMO and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission interdiction of a suspected smuggling venture east of Key Biscayne. The suspected smuggler was transferred to HSI custody for further investigation, one alien was medically evacuated ashore for a higher level of care, and 11 aliens were transferred by a Coast Guard Station Miami Beach boat crew to the Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous for disposition. The aliens were of Chinese, Haitian, and Bangladeshi nationalities.
“Illegal maritime migration is always dangerous and often deadly, and human smugglers do not care about the safety or lives of aliens during these ventures,” said Lt. Cmdr. John W. Beal, Seventh Coast Guard District public affairs officer. “Our message is simple – do not entrust your lives and money to criminal human smugglers just to be repatriated or deported. Don’t take to the sea.”
Once aboard a Coast Guard cutter, aliens are processed to determine their identity and are provided food, water, shelter, and basic medical attention before repatriation to their country of origin or return to the country of their 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.
Anyone attempting to enter the United States illegally by sea will be interdicted and repatriated, consistent with U.S. law and policy. Human smuggling events will be investigated for federal prosecution.
To learn more about the OVS mission, watch these videos:
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