A group of 396 Haitian migrants were intercepted near the remote Cay Sal, in the BahamasThe authorities of the archipelago reported this Monday, in what is one of the largest incidents of human trafficking in the area.
The migrants, who they were traveling in an overloaded boat, They are being transferred to the Inagua district, where they will be handed over to the personnel of the Defense and Migration Force.
The Bahamas Immigration Department said in a statement that it is working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure that the migrants are repatriated as quickly as possible.
The Bahamian authorities indicated that the operation was carried out by the United States Coast Guard, although no further details have been disclosed at the moment.
salt cay It is located between Cuba and Florida (USA).
In Inagua, where migrants are transferred, work on a temporary detention and processing center that can temporarily house more than 800 people was completed last month.
The facilities were prepared in collaboration with the Royal Bahamas Defense Force in anticipation of an increase in migrant detentions.
Political instability, the escalation of violence and the economic crisis in Haiti have caused thousands of Haitians flee the country and choose to emigrate despite the dangers that these trips entail.
Last year, there were two shipwrecks in the waters of Puerto Rico in which at least 16 Haitians died while trying to reach this Commonwealth of the United States illegally.