Florida Maritime Smuggling Intercepted by Federal Authorities
Florida maritime smuggling operations took a rare turn after federal authorities intercepted a small boat carrying 13 Chinese nationals and several others off the Florida coast. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported that the 27-foot vessel was stopped on September 15 near Angelfish Creek in Key Largo, carrying a total of 22 migrants and one suspected Cuban smuggler packed tightly into the small watercraft.
Unusual Caribbean Smuggling Route for Chinese Nationals
According to CBP Air and Marine Operations (AMO), the boat was initially spotted by an air patrol and successfully intercepted with assistance from Miami and Key Largo marine units along with the Coast Guard. Officials noted that using the Caribbean maritime route through areas typically trafficked by migrants from Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba is an extremely unusual path for Chinese nationals to take. Andrés Blanco, director of marine operations for the CBP Southeast region, warned that such illegal maritime voyages carry extreme risks of arrest, prosecution, deportation, and potential loss of life at sea. The detained individuals were transferred to a Coast Guard cutter for processing, and the smuggling vessel was seized.
