Groups seek release of 11 fishermen languishing in Bahamas jail

PUERTO PLATA, Dominican Republic.- The Foreign Relations Ministry and other entities work for the release of 11 Dominican fishermen who’ve been languishing for 42 days in Bahamas jail, charged with poaching in its islands’ territorial waters.

Zeneida González, mother of one of the fishermen, asked the Government and other organizations to collaborate to gain their release and safe return to the country. With teary eyes, she said the fishermen, eight of which are from the nearby town Luperón, were detained in the coast at Grand Inagua and immediately jailed.

Fishermen Union president Rafael Rodriguez affirmed that together with the Puerto Plata Fishing Boat Owners Association and the widow of the late president Francisco Caamaño, have contacted Bahamas authorities for the fishermen’s release.