396 Haitian migrants detained on 50-foot boat near Bahamas

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard detained a 50-foot boat carrying 396 Haitian migrants near the Bahamas in one of the biggest human smuggling incidents in the region. Coast Guard spokeswoman Nicole Groll said Monday that “it was grossly overloaded and very much unsafe.” The migrants were detained close to the remote Cay Sal island between Florida and Cuba. Bahamian officials said they will be processed on the Bahamian island of Inagua and repatriated to Haiti. Thousands of Haitians are fleeing a spike in gang violence and deepening political instability in a country that currently has no democratically elected institutions.