SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Doyle (WPC 1133) removed 30 aliens stranded on the uninhabited Mona Island between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, Saturday.
All 30 aliens were transferred to U.S. Border Patrol Ramey Sector agents in Mayaguez for processing and removal.
“The U.S. maritime borders are not open to illegal entry and anyone attempting to enter illegally by sea will be interdicted and processed for repatriation,” said Cmdr. Matthew Romano, chief of response for Coast Guard Sector San Juan. “Do not believe smugglers who are only interested in your money. Whether interdicted at sea or apprehended ashore, anyone who enters the continental United States or our U.S. territories will be returned to their country of origin or departure. Don’t take to the sea.”
A good Samaritan notified a Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew of people signaling distress from the uninhabited nature reserve, Friday afternoon. The Air Station Borinquen aircrew diverted to investigate the report and notified Sector San Juan that they observed a landed vessel covered in foliage and people scrambling to hide as the helicopter passed overhead.
Coast Guard Sector San Juan watchstanders diverted the crew of USCGC Joseph Doyle to respond. The USCGC Joseph Doyle crew removed 30 aliens, 27 Haitian nationals and three Dominican Republic nationals, with the assistance of park rangers from the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources.
The U.S. 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.
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