A boat with nearly 300 Haitian migrants on board ran aground Sunday in front of the Ocean Reef Club, a private luxury club located in North Key Largo, in the Keys archipelago, off the southern tip of Florida, reports the Miami Herald newspaper.
This is the third time in a week that U.S. authorities have intercepted Haitian migrants seeking to reach the United States. On Friday, a group of 123 people were detained on a small boat off Anguilla Cay (western Bahamas) by the Coast Guard. Last Sunday, the Coast Guard intercepted more than 140 people off Andros, the largest island in the Bahamas.
Human smugglers use the Bahamas – an archipelago about 80 km off the coast of Florida – as a point of departure to bring people into the United States, often from other Caribbean countries such as Haiti.
U.S. authorities have opened an investigation. According to initial information from the Coast Guard, those responsible for this alleged trafficking case are Haitians.
All migrants arrested are sent to jail, where they usually stay for a few weeks because many need medical attention before being sent back to Haiti, without the possibility of seeking asylum, according to the Miami Herald.