The Naval Institution joined the search for a boat with 13 presumed missing, including two Colombians.
So far this year, the Colombian Navy has safeguarded the lives of 621 migrants in the waters of the Archipelago department.
Last week, units of the Colombian Navy attached to the Specific Command of San Andrés and Providencia, safeguarded the lives of 95 irregular migrants, six of them minors, when they intended to be transported from San Andrés to Central America aboard illegal ships.
The operation began when suspicious boats were detected through the System of Traffic Control and Maritime Surveillance, so a Rapid Reaction Unit - URR of the San Andrés Coast Guard Station was sent in order to carry out maritime interception and safeguard the lives of 95 irregular migrants in waters near the island, including 94 Venezuelans and an Ecuadorian.
These people go to sea in boats that use unauthorized routes, to try to evade the operations of the Units of the Colombian Navy, since they do not comply with the minimum safety conditions, nor with the current maritime regulations, putting their lives at risk.
For the above, eight people were arrested for the possible crime of irregular human trafficking, being put into custody of the Attorney General's Office and the Judicial Police. For their part, the safeguarded migrants were put into custody of Migración Colombia, the Office of Control, Circulation and Residence – OCCRE and the minors were given to the Colombian Institute of Family Wellbeing – ICBF of San Andrés for the restoration of their rights.
On the other hand, according to information of the Nicaraguan press, unconfirmed, a boat with 13 Venezuelan migrants and two Colombian crew members that was transiting from San Andrés to Nicaragua, would be missing. For this reason, the Naval Institution is coordinating with the military authorities of Costa Rica and Nicaragua to search for these people, after relatives of the alleged disappeared said that they had the last communication on October 12.
“We call on people who use this type of illegal transport to stop going to sea under these conditions. The poor boats used, the lack of navigation systems, the heavy waves, the difficult weather conditions, the lack of communication with authorities, are some of the many things that violate the basic principles of Comprehensive Maritime Safety, thus representing a danger to their lives,” said Captain Octavio Gutiérrez Herrera, Commander of the Specific Command of San Andrés y Providencia.
The Colombian Navy will continue to carry out effective and sustained operations in the Caribbean Sea in coordination with the departmental migration authorities, in order to counteract these criminal practices that put people's lives at risk. In the same way, we invite people in general and especially the productive groups of sailors to report any irregular situation to lines 146, 123 and VHF channel 16.
Source: Press, National Navy of Colombia
