USCG rescues 23

[NewsWhore]

The United States Coast Guard, alerted by the Dominican Navy, rescued 23 people who were attempting to make an illegal crossing to Puerto Rico in a small craft. According to Diario Libre, the boat capsized about ten nautical miles southeast of Saona Island. One woman was drowned and two are said to be missing. El Caribe reports that the small boat had been stolen and that it had left from the mouth of the Cumayasa River last Friday. Navy Captain Ulises Bobea Rosario, chief of the Dominican Navy's Intelligence Division, told El Caribe reporters that the travelers had been stranded for more than 20 hours after the boat overturned. Naval officials had already been informed of the stolen boat and were on the lookout for the craft. Captain Bobea Rosario said that so far this year, twelve illegal boats have been detained. In the latest incident the passengers are reported to have paid between RD$30,000 and RD$35,000 for the trip. In a related article, Diario Libre reports that nearly five thousand Dominicans tried to cross to Puerto Rico in 2006. Of these, only 800 managed to make landfall. These figures correspond to the one-year period from 1 October 2005 to 30 September 2006. The US Coast Guard document said that a total of 797 Dominicans and 707 Cubans managed to cross the Mona Channel successfully. A total of 3,116 Dominicans and 106 Cubans were "intercepted on the high seas" by units of the USCG, units of the Puerto Rican Rapid Action Group and United States Border Patrol units. The report also said that 457 undocumented Dominicans and Cubans were found on Mona Island, and 570 people were stopped short of the island. Since Mona Island is part of Puerto Rico, and therefore US territory, any Cuban who reaches the island is automatically given sanctuary.

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