U.S. Coast Guard crews repatriated 311 migrants to their home country after a human smuggling interdiction at sea. The crews found the large group of Haitian migrants on an overloaded boat off the coast of Cuba.

A Coast Guard C-130 aircrew from the Clearwater Station spotted the vessel on February 15 and alerted the nearest cutter. The cutters James, Tampa, Isaac Mayo, and Vigilant arrived to find the boat overloaded with more than 300 migrants.

As none of the migrants were wearing personal flotation devices, the rescue crew distributed life jackets before transferring the migrants to the ship. The boat appears to be listing to starboard as it took on water.

Passengers on the boat included 311 Haitians including men, women, and children, officials stated. All were reported to be in good condition.

Soon after the migrants were removed, officials said the boat sank with “no pollution concerns.”

Once loaded on the Coast Guard cutters, the crews returned the migrants to Haiti.

Since the beginning of FY23 (October 1, 2022) Coast Guard crews successfully interdicted 3,117 Haitian migrants at sea. The Coast Guard reported prior year apprehensions to include: