May 24 (UPI) — American customs officials on Friday confirmed they rescued 68 undocumented migrants from an overloaded ship near Puerto Rico.
Agents aboard a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations 41-foot Coastal Interceptor Vessel were initially alerted to the suspicious vessel Monday, later detecting the boat near Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico.
The boat initially did not respond to directives to stop. At one point, a crew member “endangered a minor female by holding her against her will over an outboard engine,” CBP said in a statement.
Agents eventually compelled the boat to stop.
“Air and Marine Operations crews are ready to respond to dangerous maritime situations like this,” U.S. CBP Deputy Director of Marine Operations at the Caribbean Air and Marine Branch Melvin Garcia said in the statement.
“This situation could have turned into a tragedy with the smugglers’ lack of regard for human life and the placement of so many people on an extremely overloaded vessel.”
The U.S. Coast Guard and Puerto Rico Police were also involved in the operation.
The 68 migrants were given life jackets and removed from the “severely overloaded” vessel to a nearby Coast Guard cutter.
The AMO did elaborate on what happened to the suspected operators of the boat or where the migrants were taken.
The agency in the 2023 fiscal year conducted operations resulting in 1,004 arrests and 89,909 apprehensions of undocumented migrants.