150 Haitian boat people on board an overloaded sailboat stranded off Miami-Dade, probably from Haiti were arrested by the US Coast Guard.

According to Officer Nicole Groll, spokesperson for Coast Guard District 7, the boat ran aground near "Boca Chita Key which is located in Biscayne National Park in the Upper Florida Keys" stating "All everyone is on the boat. No one is in the water."

Several regional agencies responded to the alert, including Miami-Dade County Police and Fire Department, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations.

Groll. S underlined "this is the first Haitian boat to have arrived this far since last March, when a group of about 130 people landed off Summerland Key in the Lower Florida Keys". https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-36187-icihaiti-usa-602-haitian-boat-people-intercepted-in-2-weeks.html adding "Others tried to get to the Keys but were turned back off Haiti by the US and Haitian coast guards."

Since October, more than 6,100 Haitians have been arrested at sea trying to reach the United States illegally, according to the Coast Guard. This is the biggest exodus from Haiti for two decades. In May, a boat bound for Florida carrying more than 800 Haitian migrants https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36753-haiti-flash-800-haitian-boat-people-who-were-going-to-the-usa-arrested-in-cuba.html was stranded in Cuban waters after being forced to turn back due to engine trouble shortly after entering US territorial waters.

IH/ iciHaiti