The US Coast Guard has intercepted or repatriated more than 200 migrants involved in more than half a dozen cartel smuggling attempts this month off both US coasts.
The latest smuggling run they interrupted occurred on September 13, 2026 21 miles west of San Diego.
A small boat launched from the Coast Guard Cutter Terrell Horne intercepted a small “panga” boat spotted by a Coast Guard patrol plane and found 15 migrants aboard. They were taken aboard the cutter which then delivered them to US Border Patrol Agents ashore.
On the same day the Coast Guard Cutter Narwhal took another 8 migrants into custody 16 miles west of San Diego.
And, three days before that the Coast Guard Cutter David Duren took 15 more migrants into custody after the small smuggling boat they were in crossed from Mexican to US waters 16 miles west of San Diego.
On the same day the Coast Guard Cutter Wiliam Flores returned 14 migrants to Cuba after their makeshift boat was intercepted in the Atlantic. Their small craft has been spotted earlier by a US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) patrol plane which alerted the Coast Guard to the smuggling run.
On September 8, 2026 the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Doyle returned 51 migrants to the Dominican Republic, following the interdiction of a makeshift vessel in Mona Passage waters off Puerto Rico, three days earlier.
The dangerously overcrowded boat was spotted by a CBP patrol plane which called in the Coast Guard to intercept it before tragedy occurred.
“These maritime ventures are inherently dangerous, often subjecting families to unseaworthy, grossly overloaded vessels with zero lifesaving equipment. Our shared priority (with the Dominican Republic) remains protecting life at sea and securing our nation's maritime borders from this threat.” -Cmdr. Matthew Pinhey, US Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Doyle commanding officer
That same day, the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Narwhal encountered a suspicious 28-foot cuddy cabin vessel three miles south of Santa Barbara Island and launched a boarding team to investigate. They found 24 migrants involved in a cartel human smuggling attempt aboard the boat. The vessel was seized and all aboard were turned over to the custody of Border Patrol Agents at Newport Harbor.
And, on September 4, 2026, the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Doyle repatriated 75 migrants to Dominican Republic, following the interdiction of a grossly-overloaded makeshift vessel in Mona Passage waters off Puerto Rico two days earlier.
In all, 77 migrants, including 73 Dominican nationals, 65 men and eight women, and four Haitian men were found aboard the smuggling boat
Are you surprised by the large numbers of migrants the Coast Guard is intercepting attempting to illegally enter the US by sea?
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GREATFUL GRANNY THANK YOU !!! 2026