Cuban Migrants Stopped By Coast Guard Off Key Biscayne
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- A U.S. Coast Guard crew surrounded a group of Cuban migrants off Key Biscayne Thursday afternoon.
Chopper4 was over the water as a crew was seen trying to get the migrants off the boat about two miles away from the island around 2 p.m.
About nine men and one woman were seen on the boat.
The group was trying to reach the shore when the crew intercepted them after a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter spotted the ship.
"We immediately launched two Coast Guard small boats out of Miami, along with our law enforcement partners in the Miami area who responded to the scene,"said Lt. Commander Gabe Somma with the U.S. Coast Guard.
One Coast Guard official had some sort of weapon drawn on the group.
Coast Guard officials said at first the group refused to stop for their crews. Once the migrants stopped, officials said they discovered they had weapons on them.
"They were brandishing knives, machetes and non-compliant with our Coast Guard cruiser on scene. It's a tough spot. Our men and women displayed tremendous professionalism with non-compliant migrants," said Somma.
Following the incident, U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a statement on the matter saying,
"U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations' agents encountered a non-compliant vessel during a patrol off the coast of Key Biscayne. Marine interdiction agents successfully deployed the PepperBall Launcher System tool to interdict the vessel. CBP Air and Marine Operations secures our borders and associated airspace with an active and fully engaged cadre of coastal patrol vessels and aircraft to prevent illegal entry of people and goods into the United States."
Under the Wet Foot-Dry Foot policy, the group was not brought to the shore meaning they would be sent back.
Just a day before, a group of Cuban migrants arrived near Boca Raton. U.S. Coast Guard crews pulled six of them from the water about two miles East of the city.
Authorities were searching for two more members in that group who were missing. Coast Guard officials said Thursday that one body had washed ashore in Gulfstream - prompting them to reopen a search and rescue case.
The U.S. Coast Guard says the number of Cuban migrants trying to make it to the mainland has increased keeping their crews busy.
"We have seen a steady increase in the number of Cuban migrants. We've also seen an increase in the number of non-compliant cases involving Cuban migrants," said Somma.
