SAN DIEGO: Federal officials on Monday charged a man believed to be the captain of a boat carrying migrants that capsized near San Diego, killing four passengers.
The man, a Mexican national, was charged with two counts of bringing people into the country illegally.
US Border Patrol agents were notified at about 11:30 p.m. Friday of a small boat crossing the international maritime boundary between Mexico and the US
The Border Patrol found the wooden skiff in the surf off Imperial Beach after it had overturned in high waves. Six people were found on the beach just before midnight, one of whom was pronounced dead and another who was rescued after being found under the boat.
About two hours later, authorities received a report of someone in the water near Imperial Beach Pier. A Coast Guard crew responded and found three people in the ocean, all dead.
The five survivors were transported to a hospital for treatment.
According to the complaint, several passengers said the boat had engine problems. They urged the captain to return to Mexico, but he refused.
One man was trapped inside the cabin below deck when the boat overturned and submerged with him and several others inside, the complaint said. He was freed after Border Patrol agents flipped the boat over. Another was injured after he was trapped under the boat and a piece of metal penetrated his leg, the complaint said.
The suspected captain faces up to life in prison or the death penalty if convicted.
“Maritime smuggling is extremely dangerous, and we will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law every individual responsible for these preventable tragedies,” US Attorney Adam Gordon said in a press release.
Another man was a passenger on the boat and charged for being deported and trying to enter the US again illegally. He was first removed from the US in 2012 and most recently on Nov. 3 of this year.
Migrants are increasingly turning to the risky alternative offered by smugglers to travel by sea to avoid heavily guarded land borders, including off California’s coast. Vessels leave Mexico in the dead of night and sometimes chart hundreds of miles (kilometers) north.
There have been several incidents in recent years of migrant vessels capsizing en route to California.
Man accused of captaining migrant boat that capsized, killing 4, is charged
https://arab.news/g35e4
Man accused of captaining migrant boat that capsized, killing 4, is charged
- The man, a Mexican national, was charged with two counts of bringing people into the country illegally
- The Border Patrol found the wooden skiff in the surf off Imperial Beach after it had overturned in high waves
US Justice Department official eyes cases against Cuba leaders as Trump floats ‘friendly takeover’
- “Working group” formed to build cases against people connected to the Cuban government
- Trump’s has increasingly displayed aggressive stance against Cuba’s communist leadership
MIAMI: The top Justice Department prosecutor in Miami is considering criminal investigations of Cuban government officials, according to people familiar with the matter. The inquiry comes as President Donald Trump has raised the possibility of a “friendly takeover” of the communist-run island.
Jason Reding Quiñones, the US attorney for the Southern District of Florida, has created a “working group” that includes federal prosecutors and officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies to try to build cases against people connected to the Cuban government and its Communist Party, according to one of the people. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the effort.
It was not immediately clear which Cuban officials the office is targeting or what criminal charges prosecutors may be looking to bring.
The Justice Department said in a statement Friday that “federal prosecutors from across the country work every day to pursue justice, which includes efforts to combat transnational crime.”
The effort is taking place against the backdrop of Trump’s increasingly aggressive stance against Cuba’s communist leadership.
Emboldened by the US capture of Cuba’s close ally, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump last month said his administration was in high-level talks with officials in Havana to pursue “a friendly takeover” of the country. He repeated those claims this week, saying his attention would turn back to Cuba once the war with Iran winds down.
“They want to make a deal so bad,” Trump said of Cuba’s leadership.
While Cuba has faded from Washington’s radar as a major national security threat in recent decades, it remains a priority in the US Attorney’s office in Miami, whose political, economic and cultural life is dominated by Cuban-American exiles.
The FBI field office has a dedicated Cuba group that in 2024 was instrumental in the arrest of former US Ambassador Victor Manuel Rocha on charges of serving as a secret agent of Cuba stretching back to the 1970s.
In recent weeks, several Miami Republicans, in addition to Florida Sen. Rick Scott, have called on the Trump administration to reopen its criminal investigation into the 1996 shootdown of four planes operated by anti-communist exiles.
In a letter to Trump on Feb. 13, lawmakers including Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar and Carlos Gimenez highlighted decades-old news reports indicating that former President Raúl Castro — the head of Cuba’s military at the time — gave the order to shoot down the unarmed Cessna aircraft.
“We believe unequivocally that Raúl Castro is responsible for this heinous crime,” lawmakers wrote. “It is time for him to be brought to justice.”
While no indictment against Castro has been announced, Florida’s attorney general said this week that he would open a state-level investigation into the crime.
The Trump administration has also accused Cuba of not cooperating with American counterterrorism efforts, adding it alongside North Korea and Iran to a select few nations the US considers state sponsors of terrorism.
The designation stems from Cuba’s harboring of US fugitives and its refusal to extradite several Colombian rebel leaders while they were engaged in peace talks with the South American nation.
