Tuesday, September 29, 2020
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The Vigilante Coast Guard (WMEC-617) repatriated 20 migrants to the Dominican Republic between September 27 and 29, following a ban on illegal migrants at the Mona crossing just outside Rincón, Puerto Rico, the 7th coast. Guard District said in a statement on September 29.
The ban is the result of ongoing efforts by several agencies in Operation Caribbean Guard and the CBIG Caribbean Border Inter-Agency Group.
“Heriberto Hernandez’s team is pleased to save the 20 lives of this overcrowded makeshift ship,” said Lt. Andrew Russo, commander of the Heriberto Hernandez Coast Guard (WPC-1114). “Unfortunately, as in the maximum cases, the situations faced through these migrants have put their lives at great risk. These makeshift boats are unstable, have no compatibility to sail and are continually drinking water. Along the journey, migrants are exposed to fuel leaks and elements, and rarely have life-saving devices. on board. “
Coast Guard observers in the San Juan sector won an overdue communication Saturday night from a Ramey Border Patrol Sector officer, who informed a maritime unit of the Puerto Rico Police Joint Rapid Action Forces at the site of an illegal voyage, approximately five km southwest of Rincon Puerto Rico. The Coast Guard kidnapped coast guard Heriberto Hernandez at the site.
Once on site with the forbidden 20-foot makeshift boat, the Team of the Heriberto Hernandez Cutter approached the migrants safely to protect life at sea. The migrant vessel wore 16 adult men and two women, as well as two unaccompanied male minors, who claimed to be nationals of the Dominican Republic.
Once aboard a Coast Guard ship, all migrants obtained food, water, shelter and critical medical care. During the ban, Members of the Coast Guard team received non-public protective devices to minimize possible exposure to any imaginable instance of COVID-19. migrants in such cases reported symptoms similar to COVID-19.
Cutter Heriberto Hernandez then transferred the migrants to Cutter Vigilant, which in turn ended the repatriation of the migrants. Eighteen of the migrants were repatriated at sea, where they were transferred to a military ship from the Dominican Republic on Sunday, while the other two were repatriated and transferred to the local government in Santo Domingo on Tuesday morning.
Cutters Heriberto Hernandez is a 154-foot home rapid response cutter in San Juan, Puerto Rico, while the Vigilant Cutter is an average 210-foot permanence power cutter at home in Puerto Canaveral, Florida.