[NYPOST] Dozens of illegal immigrants colonists were sent back to Cuba after being stopped in four vessels off the Florida Keys, US Coast Guard officials said.
Boats carrying a total of 45 Cubans were spotted by civilians beginning late Wednesday about 12 miles south of Boot Key, according to the US Coast Guard 7th District on Sunday.
Three other "rustic" vessels carrying more migrants colonists headed to the US were then intercepted by Coast Guard Cutter Charles Sexton’s crew on Friday, including one about 17 miles south of Long Key.
Photos released by the Coast Guard Sunday showed the migrants colonists tightly huddled on small wooden boats, including one that appeared to be extremely tattered.
"The possibility of being stopped by Coast Guard crews while illegally migrating through the Caribbean Sea is high," Lt. Cmdr. Mark Cobb of the Coast Guard’s Seventh District said in a statement. "No one should risk their lives on unsafe rustic vessels in unpredictable seas."
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