SAN JUAN (HPD) — Authorities were searching Wednesday for at least eight migrants who apparently disappeared in the waters near the historic area of Puerto Rico’s capital.
The US Coast Guard said the migrants appeared to be aboard a boat that capsized in San Juan Bay Tuesday night, according to two rescued survivors from the Dominican Republic.
The search comes amid increased activity by people smugglers organizing departures from Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
From October 2021 to September 2022, the United States Coast Guard intercepted at least 88 such crossings near Puerto Rico and near the Mona Pass, which separates the island of Hispaniola from the United States, which is shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. During that period, more than 1,700 Dominicans, 444 Haitians and four Cubans were arrested.