Bahamas detains more than 100 illegal Haitian migrants

NASSAU, Bahamas, Aug 23, CMC – The Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) Tuesday said it had detained more than 100 Haitian migrants found on an overloaded sloop in waters around the Caribbean Community (CARICOIM) country.

The RBDF said that the 111 migrants, including five children and 14 women, were spotted near Guinchos Cay, located between the Bahamas and Cuba.

It said that the illegal migrants will be turned over to immigration officials for processing.

Bahamian authorities said they expect to apprehend a record number of Haitian migrants this year, with more than 2,350 detained so far, compared with 249 in 2020 and 1,644 last year.

Many Haitians have been fleeing the French-speaking CARICOM country as rival gangs clash with each other and kidnappings and murders increase. In addition, the country faces a socio-economic crisis with thousands of people unable to feed their families.

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