WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Seventy-eight migrants were rescued by the Coast Guard Cutter Seneca from an interdicted 40-foot Haitian sail freighter on Friday, about 35 miles south of Ragged Island, Bahamas, the release explained.
"The Coast Guard and its partner agencies continue to maintain a strong presence along our maritime border and will continue to interdict and rescue those who embark on these illegal voyages in unsafe vessels," Coast Guard 7th District Cmdr. Willie Carmichael stated in the release.
On Wednesday, the Coast Guard Cutter Bernard C. Webber interdicted 73 migrants on an overloaded 50-foot Haitian sail freighter seven miles southwest of Great Inagua, Bahamas, the release said.
Under a US-Bahamas agreement, migrants captured in the island nation’s territorial waters are transferred to Bahamian custody for legal processing, according to the release.