VIRGINIA, CMC – The United States Coast Guard cutter, Legare, has returned to its homeport here after targeting “unsafe migration and human trafficking from Cuba and Haiti.”
The US Coast Guard said the cutter concluded a nearly 10-week deployment to the Windward Passage in the Caribbean Sea and the South Florida Straits and that it “steamed over “12,000 nautical miles in support of the US Homeland Security Task Force.
‘During the patrol, Legare interdicted one go-fast vessel off the coast of Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, preventing an irregular, unlawful, and dangerous journey of 20 migrants from an overloaded vessel in unsafe sea conditions,” the US Coast Guard said.
It said Legare worked alongside other Coast Guard cutters and Department of Homeland Security units “to promote maritime safety and secure maritime borders, targeting unsafe migration and human trafficking from Cuba and Haiti, while prioritizing the protection of lives at sea.”
Legare’s commanding officer, Jeremy Greenwood, said, ‘this mission is never easy, but we understand the importance of deterring unlawful migration incidents that involve attempting dangerous journeys on often overloaded and unseaworthy vessels.
“We reiterate the plea to those attempting these transits to the United States to seek safe, lawful alternatives,” he added.
The US Coast Guard said Caribbean and other migrants attempting to reach the United States unlawfully by sea or who land on US shores without authorization are subject to removal and repatriation to their country of origin or departure.
“Consistent with US policy, those who bypass or attempt to circumvent lawful immigration pathways face consequences, including the potential of being barred from future lawful entry, in addition to risking their lives unnecessarily,” the US Coast Guard said.
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