Dozens of Haitian migrants rescued from uninhabited island in Puerto Rico 

At least 34 Haitian migrants were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard on Tuesday after they were abandoned by smugglers on an uninhabited island near Puerto Rico, reported The Associated Press. 

The migrants were found after employees from Puerto Rico’s Department of Natural Resources reported seeing multiple campfires on Monito Island, an inhospitable island located between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. 

When the Coast Guard rescued the migrants on Monday, there were swells of up to 15 feet (five meters), causing the rescue efforts to take five hours, officials said. The migrants had to take turns jumping into the water and swam to where a small Coast Guard boat waited. 

The group of migrants was made up of 26 men, seven women, and one boy. They were transferred to the U.S. Border Patrol agents in Puerto Rico. 

#BorderPatrol#BorderSecurity#HonorFirst#humantraffickingawareness pic.twitter.com/CP7QYIsTMC

— Scott D. Garrett, Acting Chief Patrol Agent (@USBPChiefRMY) December 13, 2022

The rescue is the second such incident in less than a month. In November, the U.S. Coast Guard rescued 12 Haitian migrants that had spent five days on Monito Island. 

In October, the U.S. Coast Guard found a group of more than 100 Haitian migrants that were stranded on the uninhabited island. 

Dozens of Haitians have attempted to flee their country amid a spike in gang violence, poverty, and political instability. Many migrants choose to cross the border into the Dominican Republic and they pay smugglers to ferry them to Puerto Rico. 

The island is frequently used by smugglers as a drop-off point for boats promising to take migrants to the U.S. territory. However, many times they leave migrants there telling them they have reached Puerto Rico, reported Reuters.