Boat Carrying 300 Haitian Migrants Land in Florida Keys in Suspected Smuggling Operation

Multiple agencies responded to a call of a wooden vessel carrying more than 300 Haitian migrants in the shallow waters off Ocean Reef Club in north Key Largo on March 6, 2022, according to the U.S. Border Patrol. (@USBPChiefMIP via Twitter / https://twitter.com/USBPChiefMIP/status/1500621824840904709)

A vessel believed to be carrying about 300 Haitian migrants landed in the Florida Keys area over the weekend in what officials are calling a smuggling operation.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection told NBC News in a statement that the agency, along with the U.S. Coast Guard and local law enforcement, “responded to a maritime smuggling event that made landfall in Ocean Reef, Florida,” on Sunday.

The investigation is ongoing, according to the statement.

Authorities say the sail freighter came aground 300 yards from shore. (@USBPChiefMIP via Twitter)

Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar said on Twitter that approximately 300 migrants were overloaded onto a wooden vessel, and 163 of them ended up swimming to shore.

He shared a photo showing migrants wrapped in towels on the shore, noting that many were “in need of medical attention.”

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SOURCE: NBC News, Marlene Lenthang