- Miami-Dade officials stopped the 60-foot vessel near Key Biscayne last Friday
- The Coast Guard put the migrants on another ship to return to Haiti
A luxury yacht in Florida was stopped with more than 20 Haitian migrants crammed inside in a shocking smuggling operation.
Miami-Dade County officials stopped the 60-foot vessel near Stiltsville homes off the coast of Cape Florida in Key Biscayne last Friday morning, as reported by the Miami Herald.
It is unclear whether the boat came directly from Haiti, or whether the 30 migrants had previously stopped to pay smugglers to take them to the US.
Maritime patrol officers were assisted in the operation by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the U.S. Border Patrol and Coast Guard, and U.S. Customs.
Border Patrol released an image of the migrants, mostly men, crammed below deck into the yacht’s interior.
Border Patrol released an image of the migrants, mostly men, crammed below deck into the yacht’s interior
A luxury yacht in Florida was stopped with more than 20 Haitian migrants crammed inside in a shocking smuggling operation
Marine patrol officers were assisted in the operation by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, U.S. Border Patrol and Coast Guard, and U.S. Customs
The Coast Guard reportedly put the migrants on another ship to be returned to Haiti.
One smuggling suspect was turned over to Homeland Security officials.
The crisis comes as the US expected a surge of Haitian migrants after several gangs in the country launched coordinated attacks in February.
More than 33,000 people fled Port Au Prince in just under two weeks after gangs began looting homes and attacking state institutions.
According to a recent UN report, more than 2,500 people were killed or injured in Haiti between January and March, an increase of more than 50 percent compared to the same period last year.
The majority of those displaced have traveled to Haiti’s southern region, which is generally peaceful compared to Port-au-Prince, which has an estimated population of three million and remains largely paralyzed by gang violence.
The gangs’ attacks began on February 29, with gunmen targeting police stations and the main international airport.
They also stormed Haiti’s two largest prisons and released more than 4,000 prisoners.
More than 70 percent of people who fled Port-au-Prince between March 8 and March 20 say they have already been left homeless by gang violence and have been living with relatives or in crowded, makeshift shelters.
The crisis comes as the US has seen a surge of Haitian migrants after several gangs in the country launched coordinated attacks in February.
More than 2,500 people were killed or injured in Haiti from January to March, an increase of more than 50 percent compared to the same period last year
More than 70 percent of people who fled Port-au-Prince between March 8 and March 20 say gang violence has already left them homeless
Weeks of violence have forced some 18 hospitals to halt operations and caused a shortage of medical supplies as Haiti’s largest seaport and main international airport remain closed.
Gunfire continues to ring out daily throughout Port-au-Prince, although gang violence has subsided somewhat in certain areas.
Haiti’s largest public hospital, State University Hospital, is one of the closed hospitals. Located in the center of Port-au-Prince, it has been seized and looted by gangs who also looted nearby pharmacies.
Although some private clinics and hospitals operate, they remain inaccessible to the majority of people in a country where 60 percent of the population earns less than $2 a day.