Crewmembers aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Isaac Mayo repatriated 27 Cuban migrants to Bahia de Cabañas, Cuba, Saturday.
This repatriation is a result of two separate migrant interdictions at sea, which both took place Friday, December 18, in the south Florida Straits.
While on routine patrol, the Coast Guard Cutter Resolute located a rustic vessel with a motor, 45 miles nautical miles southwest of Key West, Fla., with 12 Cuban migrants aboard. The crew of the Resolute safely transferred the 12 migrants aboard the cutter.
An HC-144A Ocean Sentry Maritime Patrol Aircraft, from Coast Guard Air Station Miami, located a migrant chug carrying 15 Cuban migrants 55 nautical miles southwest of Key West. The Cutter Resolute was diverted to the scene and safely transferred the migrants aboard the cutter.
The migrants were later transferred aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Isaac Mayo, and repatriated to Cuba. Coast Guard Cutter Resolute is a 210-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in St. Petersburg, Fla. Coast Guard Cutter Isaac Mayo is a 154-foot fast response cutter homeported in Key West.
Since Oct. 1, the Coast Guard 7th District estimates that 1,334 Cubans have attempted to illegally migrate via the sea. These numbers represent the total amount of at-sea interdictions, landings and disruptions in the Florida Straits, the Caribbean and Atlantic.
For more information on how to legally immigrate to the U.S., call U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) at 1-800-375-5283 or visit the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov