U.S. agents intercept wooden craft with 7 Dominican boatpeople

AGUADILLA, Puerto Rico – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents detected and intercepted a wooden makeshift vessel late Thursday night with seven aliens of the Dominican Republic attempting to illegally enter Puerto Rico.

Late Thursday night, a CBP Maritime Patrol Aircraft detected a vessel of interest that appeared as a single engine “yola” type wooden vessel, approximately 20 feet in length, with two subjects visible on board. The vessel traveling north east was seen approximately 24 nautical miles off the southwest coast of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico.

Maintaining constant surveillance of the vessel, a CBP Marine unit intercepted the vessel finding seven illegal migrants claiming to be citizens from the Dominican Republic.

Following protocol of the Caribbean Border Interagency Group (CBIG), the illegal immigrants were removed from the “yola” to a U.S. Coast Guard Cutter. CBP Border Patrol Agents reached the USCG cutter for immigration processing.

Pedro Cedeño-Mota, 39, and Wilkin M. Honorio-Mota, 31, citizens of the Dominican Republic will appear today before a U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge for repeated violations to U.S. immigration law.

Mr. Honorio-Mota, with an extensive criminal record since 2001, had been convicted and served time after multiple convictions for assault, burglary, criminal possession of a weapon, and criminal contempt in Syracuse, New York. He was removed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 2005.

In 2009, CBP Border Patrol arrested Mr. Honorio-Mota attempting to enter near Rincón for which he was convicted by the U.S. District Court in Puerto Rico and served a 21-month-sentence. He was removed by ICE in February 2010.

The remaining five aliens will be subject to expedited removal proceedings.