8023: Coast Guard picks up 121 Haitians (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Coast Guard picks up 121 Haitians, takes them back home
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- (AP) -- A U.S. Coast Guard ship brought 121 
Haitians back to their country and dropped them off five days after they 
were intercepted at sea, the Coast Guard said Tuesday.

Those repatriated on Monday came from two groups that had tried to leave 
Haiti by sea.

A Coast Guard ship intercepted an overloaded freighter carrying 109 Haitians 
14 miles northeast of Guinchos Cay in the Bahamas last Wednesday, the Coast 
Guard said in a written statement.

An additional 12 Haitians and two suspected smugglers were detained about 
two miles east of Boca Raton, Fla., on the same day. U.S. Customs agents 
seized the vessel and took the suspected smugglers into custody.

Seeking to escape poverty in their country, Haitians often attempt the 
dangerous crossing to the Bahamas and the United States.

A total of 669 Haitians have been interdicted by the Coast Guard so far this 
year.


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