U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) special agents detected a suspicious target of interest near Desecheo Island, Puerto Rico, which was later identified as a 30-foot rustic vessel. The rustic boat contained 40 migrants headed for the island. The occupants were apprehended and removed from the disabled vessel.
The maritime interdiction began just after midnight on June 6 when personnel assigned to the Caribbean Air and Marine Operations Center (CAMOC) detected the target near Desecheo Island. CAMOC relayed the information to a National Air Security Operations Center DHC-8 aircrew, who located the rustic vessel with multiple people on board.
The DHC-8 De Havilland aircraft monitored the vessel and guided a U.S. Coast Guard cutter to the area to intercept the vessel near Puerto Rico’s shoreline. The vessel was intercepted by the Coast Guard within two hours of the initial discovery. Forty migrants who authorities believe intended to make landfall in Puerto Rico were apprehended.
A video posted on the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shows the vessel being interdicted by U.S. Coast Guard personnel. According to CBP, 36 nationals from the Dominican Republic, 34 adult males and 2 adult females, were among the 40 migrants apprehended on the vessel. The remaining members of the group included three Haitian nationals, all adult males, and one male Uzbekistan national.
Director Christopher Hunter of the Caribbean Air and Marine Branch commented on the interdiction, saying, “Air and Marine Operations remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting the nation’s borders and ensuring the safety of our communities. The successful interdiction near Desecheo Island demonstrates the dedication and coordination of our personnel and partners in disrupting dangerous smuggling operations and that U.S. borders–land and sea–are closed.”
The latest interdicted smuggling operation involving a “yola-type” rustic marine vessel illustrates the growing difficulty human smugglers face reaching the United States. To make landfall in Puerto Rico from the Dominican Republic, smugglers must navigate the dangerous Mona Passage, an 80-mile-wide strait known for its violent currents and swells between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
The dangerous route is the most used pathway to the United States for Dominican Republic nationals and is heavily monitored by U.S. authorities. As reported by Breitbart Texas, a similar maritime smuggling scheme was interdicted by CBP Air and Marine Operations officers, the U.S. Border Patrol, and ICE Homeland Security Investigations in May.
During that event, 64 migrants were arrested and removed from a crowded yola-type vessel attempting to make landfall on the island. After detecting the vessel headed towards Puerto Rico, federal law enforcement agents boarded the vessel and discovered 58 Dominican Republic nationals were on board the vessel as well as six nationals from Haiti. The group was later processed at the Ramey Border Patrol Station for removal proceedings.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.