The US Coast Guard intercepted a ramshackle home-made boat off the Key West shoreline — and shipped all 16 migrants on board back to Cuba, officials said.
The barely-sea-worthy craft — the bow of a small wooden boat with the rest made of foam — was spotted by an eagle-eyed good Samaritan and picked up by the Coat Guard cutter Charles David Jr. on April 7, according to a press release.
The migrants were taken aboard the cutter and shipped back to Cuba on Friday, the Coast Guard said.
“The Coast Guard’s primary mission is to preserve human life at sea,” Lt. Mathew Miller said in a statement. “The maritime environment is inherently dangerous.
“The Coast Guard and our [Homeland Security Task Force – Southeast] partners are committed to preventing unsafe voyages at sea and enforcing US immigration laws and regulations,” he said.
The maritime enforcement agency has repatriated 348 migrants trying to reach American shores back to Cuba since the start of the 2024 fiscal year that began on Oct. 1.
Last week, the Coast Guard intercepted 101 migrants in the waters off Puerto Rico in three separate operations that brought the number of immigrants nabbed in the Mona Passage to 932 in the fiscal year.
The passage — between Puerto Rico and Hispaniola — is a favored route to US territory.
The migrants detained last week were from the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Venezuela.
While thousands of migrants overwhelming the US border with Mexico, many continue to try to reach the US by sea, primarily Cubans attempting to flee the restrictive socialist island nation.