Two Bahamian men are currently in U.S. custody following two separate human smuggling attempts involving migrants from China, Haiti, and Jamaica.
The first incident occurred late Tuesday evening when U.S. federal authorities intercepted a boat off the coast of Florida. The boat, a blue, single-engine 18-foot center console, was operating without its navigational lights on, prompting U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents from Air and Marine Operations (AMO) to investigate. When the boat’s operator, a Bahamian man, failed to stop, agents fired a warning shot. Upon boarding the vessel, authorities discovered 12 migrants attempting to illegally enter the U.S. One woman became unresponsive during the transfer, and was taken to a hospital for treatment. The remaining migrants were transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous for repatriation.
Just two days earlier, U.S. Coast Guard officers intercepted another boat leaving The Bahamas for South Florida. According to a criminal complaint filed in Florida, the 25-foot boat, which left Bimini early on Sunday, had initially turned on its navigational lights but switched them off after leaving Bahamian waters. When the boat entered U.S. waters, AMO agents ordered the vessel to stop. After the boat failed to comply, federal officers fired warning shots and later disabled the vessel with shots to its bow. The boat was eventually stopped around 6:45 a.m. on Sunday.
Onboard were 22 people, including 12 Chinese migrants, seven Haitian migrants, and one Jamaican. Two men, Bahamians Demetrius Luciano Kemp and Haitian Mikewendzly Nestar Norelus, were arrested after taking turns operating the boat. Kemp, in a statement to authorities, admitted to being recruited by a human smuggling organizer in The Bahamas and paid $2,000 to ferry the migrants to the U.S., with the promise of more money once he returned to the Bahamas. Kemp also told agents that he had been deported from the U.S. in July 2024 after an earlier incident where he was found clinging to a capsized boat near South Florida. The background check revealed inconsistencies in his previous account, with federal agents discovering Kemp had left Boynton Inlet in Palm Beach County before his boat broke down last year.
Kemp now faces charges of encouraging or inducing an alien to enter the U.S. and reentry after being removed. Both Kemp and Norelus face additional charges for failing to obey federal orders to stop the boat.
These incidents come on the heels of another interception by the U.S. Coast Guard on February 5, when a Chinese migrant was found floating on a paddleboard about 25 miles off Freeport, Grand Bahama. The migrant was suspected of attempting to enter the U.S. illegally.
In January, U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order increasing Coast Guard presence between Florida and The Bahamas. The Coast Guard has been focusing efforts on deterring maritime mass migration from Haiti and Cuba, with additional resources including cutters, aircraft, and specialized teams deployed along the Florida border to interdict illegal migration and prevent other criminal activity.
