Last Friday, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida announced that state officers had apprehended individuals suspected of illegally entering the country, who were attempting to flee Haiti on February 29.
The boat intercepted by officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was 42 feet long and had five unaccompanied children on board.
The boat was being operated by a U.S. citizen.
According to authorities, the individuals on the boat were involved in a human smuggling operation and were found lying prone on the deck.
“Just recently, within the last couple of weeks, and this will be made public later today, our Florida Fish and Wildlife officers interdicted a vessel that had 25 illegal immigrants, potential illegal immigrants, from Haiti,” DeSantis said in a recent announcement.
BREAKING: Gov. Ron DeSantis announces Florida agents have interdicted a vessel that had 25 suspected illegal aliens from Haiti
"They had firearms, they had drugs […] That vessel was interdicted [and] those illegal aliens were turned over to the Coast Guard for deportation." pic.twitter.com/LIRBuEwFiO
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) March 15, 2024
“In their boat, in their vessel, they had firearms, they had drugs, they had night vision gear and they were boating very recklessly, which would potentially endanger other folks. So that vessel was interdicted near the Sebastian Inlet, and those illegal aliens were turned over to the Coast Guard for deportation,” he continued.
“So our folks have been doing this before we augmented this and they’re going to continue to do it, and we’ve got an incredible amount of resources that are now on display to be able to prevent. Now, what’s different today than maybe in the past? Well, part of it is we have more resources that the state has been willing to put up.” he added.
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