Eight stowaways — four Chinese and four Dominican nationals — were apprehended aboard an inbound barge in San Juan Harbor last week in a joint Coast Guard and federal operation that spans the broader Caribbean maritime zone, including USVI waters.
A Coast Guard Station San Juan boat crew and federal partner agencies apprehended eight stowaways aboard an inbound barge last Thursday, in the latest maritime security operation covering waters that include the U.S. Virgin Islands. The stowaways — four Chinese nationals and four Dominican Republic nationals — were discovered aboard the barge Charlotte Bridge as it was being towed by the tug Southern Dawn into San Juan Harbor.
The interception began when Customs and Border Protection’s Caribbean Air and Marine Operations Center visually detected possible stowaways on the approaching vessel and alerted Sector San Juan watchstanders. The Coast Guard directed the tug’s master to hold position outside the harbor while a boat crew launched to conduct a security boarding. All eight individuals were safely taken into custody and transferred to CBP agents at Puerto Nuevo Terminals for processing.
“The coordination and swift response of the Coast Guard and our partner agencies demonstrates our collective commitment to securing and protecting the U.S. maritime border in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands,” said Cmdr. Matthew Romano, Sector San Juan’s chief of response — a reminder that the Coast Guard’s jurisdiction and responsibility extends directly to USVI shores. The operation falls under the Homeland Security Task Force San Juan Region, a sprawling interagency partnership that includes the U.S. Marshals Service District of the Virgin Islands and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Puerto Rico/Virgin Islands program, among dozens of federal agencies. The task force, established under Executive Order 14519, is focused on dismantling smuggling networks, transnational criminal organizations, and human trafficking operations throughout the Caribbean region.
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