Caribbean Migrants Rescued After Smugglers Abandon Them

The United States Coast Guard has reported rescuing eleven individuals claiming to be Haitian nationals abandoned by smugglers. The smugglers left the six men and five women stranded on Monito Island, Puerto Rico’s uninhabited natural reserve in the Mona Passage. The Coast Guard said its watchstanders in San Juan, Puerto Rico, received word last week from the fishing vessel ‘Likeo’ crew. The crew reported a group of people with orange shirts who appeared to be stranded on the rocky cliffs of Monito Island. A Coast Guard helicopter and the Cutter Richard Dixon went to confirm the report and provide rescue assistance. Once on scene, the favorable sea state conditions allowed the cutter Richard Dixon’s Over the Horizon boat to approach Monito Island safely, provide life jackets to the migrants, and effect their rescue. “The risk to life is not worth it, taking to the sea is never the answer, seek legal migration pathways,” said Lt. Peter Diamontopulos, Coast Guard Cutter Richard Dixon commanding officer after the rescue. The article Caribbean Migrants Rescued After Smugglers Abandon Them is from St. Lucia Times.