Federal authorities intercepted a 27-foot cuddy cabin boat carrying 22 illegal migrants, including 13 Chinese nationals, in a dangerous smuggling attempt off the Florida coast.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, with help from the U.S. Coast Guard, stopped the early morning smuggling attempt Sept. 15. They found and arrested 23 illegal immigrants packed on the boat near Angelfish Creek, Florida, near Key Largo.
The agents seized the 27-foot vessel and apprehended one suspected smuggler, a Cuban national. The 22 illegal migrants on board were of various nationalities.
The group included eight Ecuadorian nationals, 13 Chinese nationals and one Dominican national, the agency said in a news release. They were transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Pablo Valent for processing.
CBP officials said the boat was first detected by an Air and Marine Operations enforcement aircraft. They called in assistance from the Miami Marine Unit and Key Largo Marine Unit, and agents coordinated with the Coast Guard to board the vessel.
“Attempting to enter the United States illegally by sea is extremely dangerous and will not go undetected,” said Andres Blanco, executive director of Air and Marine Operations Southeast Region.
CBP officials called it a rare and “extremely dangerous” attempt to enter the United State via maritime routes through Florida, particularly for Chinese nationals.
“Those who attempt these dangerous voyages face arrest, prosecution, removal, and the very real possibility of losing their lives at sea,” Blanco said.
Maritime Caribbean routes are typically used by Haitians, Dominicans and Cubans looking to sneak into the country, officials said.
During the Biden administration, Chinese nationals normally used land routes in California and Texas to illegally enter the country, Fox News reported.
CBP Air and Marine Operations focus on protecting the homeland and stopping security threats through aviation and maritime law enforcement expertise, CBP said. The agents operate within the nation’s border and beyond, working across both air and maritime environments.
The AMO division has aircraft and marine vessels deployed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“This interdiction demonstrates the strength of our maritime partnerships and our commitment to stopping human smuggling organizations before they can put more lives at risk,” Blanco said.
The U.S. Coast Guard also “remains committed to maritime safety and security through interagency cooperation and enforcement of federal laws,” the agency said.
The USCG is a unique branch of the U.S. armed forces, carrying out vital search and rescue missions, maritime law enforcement and drug and human smuggling interdictions at sea.
“The U.S. border remains secure due to highly capable teams and coordinated interagency enforcement,” said USCG Lt. Corryn Ulrich, commanding officer of Pablo Valent. “We remain ready to save lives and enforce federal law at sea.”
With the southern border virtually sealed, smugglers continue to try new and daring routes. They also have return to old methods such as smuggling humans and drugs via tractor-trailers and train cars.
In another smuggling case in Del Rio, Texas, CBP announced this week that U.S. Border Patrol agents rescued four illegal immigrants locked inside a freight car, the agency said in a news release.
Uvalde Border Patrol Station agents made the discovery just before dawn on Sept. 16, while inspecting a stopped freight train on a rail siding near Knippa.
A Border Patrol canine alerted agents to the individuals inside, and they found three Mexican nationals and one Chinese national. They were transported to the Uvalde Station for processing.
This is the fourth such incident involving autorack freight train cars within a three-week span at the same railroad siding, CBP officials said.
On Sept. 11, agents found two individuals locked in an autorack car, one of whom was deceased. Homeland Security Investigations is investigating that incident, CBP officials said.
On Sept. 7, Border Patrol agents rescued three individuals from an autorack car hauler. That discovery followed the Aug. 30 rescue of eight individuals, including one child, under identical circumstances.
“This is the work of criminal alien smugglers who have no regard for human life,” said Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony “Scott” Good. “Doors on freight cars are locked externally, and migrants are trapped for an indefinite amount of time without food or water.”
In July, a federal grand jury indicted 11 individuals in connection with the boxcar deaths of seven migrants in Texas. They died in May after being trapped inside a sealed, unventilated shipping container that departed Del Rio, Texas.
The shipping container was stacked on top of another one and had no ventilation or cooling system. The migrants were locked inside as it traveled east to San Antonio and then Laredo, where they were found dead.
