Posted on 10/24/2003 12:34:11 AM PDT by sarcasm
MICHES, Dominican Republic - Tucked under mountains that reach the clouds, this seaside town is a popular departure point for the record numbers of Dominicans and others seeking to sneak into the United States through nearby Puerto Rico.
''This town is like an open airport,'' said Navy Lt. Ramón Heredia, who supervises 21 sailors assigned to the region. ``People use it to get in and out of the country.''
Dominicans have long tried to reach the United States by hiring smugglers to ferry them across the shark-infested and turbulent waters of the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico, a U.S. commonwealth, aboard open-deck fishing boats known as yolas.
But over the past year, record numbers of Dominicans and migrants from other countries have been risking their lives to make the crossing, according to Navy authorities in the Dominican Republic and U.S. Border Patrol agents in Puerto Rico.
NUMBERS INCREASE
The number of would-be migrants intercepted by U.S. authorities quadrupled from 835 in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2002, to 3,477 in fiscal 2003.
Dominican authorities during fiscal 2002 stopped 1,909 fleeing migrants, compared with 3,907 during fiscal 2003.
Just this week, authorities in Puerto Rico detained 58 illegal migrants intercepted off the southwestern coastal town of Cabo Rojo. A total of 54 Dominicans and four Cubans were aboard the small wood boat intercepted Sunday.
''There are definitely more people leaving the Dominican Republic, 100 percent more,'' Victor Colón, assistant chief of the U.S. Border Patrol based in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, said in a telephone interview.
Authorities say it's the largest spike since the early 1990s, when a false rumor spread that amnesty would be offered to Dominicans living illegally in the United States.
An estimated 300,000 Dominicans live in Puerto Rico, straining social services for a population where at least 40 percent live below the poverty level and fueling a culture clash laced with allegations of discrimination.
SEVERAL REASONS
Dominican officials say a number of factors are spurring the latest hike in illegal departures, including an economic crunch that has driven up unemployment and the cost of living and anxieties over a hotly contested presidential election next year.
But the increase in interceptions is also caused by stepped-up U.S. security patrols in U.S. and Caribbean waters as part of Washington's heightened state of alert after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
''A lot more are leaving, but we are also getting better at catching them,'' Colón said.
The desperation in the Dominican Republic has created a profitable industry for smugglers, who charge from $350 for Dominicans to as much as $3,000 for other foreign nationals who use this country as a jump-off point to the United States. Among them have been Cubans, Venezuelans, Colombians, Haitians and Chinese.
According to the Dominican navy, 32 foreigners were intercepted on their way to Puerto Rico in calendar year 2001, compared with 145 in 2002. So far this year, at least 64 foreign nationals were caught trying to leave illegally.
LARGER VESSELS
Dominican authorities say smugglers also have become more sophisticated over the past year by building large yolas in Puerto Rico that can carry 100 or more passengers per trip. Many of the yolas leave empty from Puerto Rico's northern coast and pick up passengers here.
''The smugglers go out to sea pretending to go fishing and arrive here to pick up passengers,'' said navy Capt. Rodolfo Peralta Serrata, chief of intelligence. ''Over there, it's easier to obtain a yola.'' So far this year, authorities here have seized 18 yolas that originated in Puerto Rico.
The journey from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico's western coast, where most of the landings occur, takes 12 to 24 hours, depending on weather and where the migrants are picked up. In addition to Miches, other popular departure sites along the Dominican Republic's northern coast include the towns of Cabrera, Nagua, Sánchez, Samaná and Sabana de la Mar.
MANY INTERCEPTED
The Dominican navy relies on about 500 sailors to patrol more than 950 miles of coastline.
They don't have helicopters and only recently obtained four new ships to use on the high seas.
Still, they've intercepted 68 yolas so far this year and prevented another 355 from heading out to sea.
Another 322 yolas were destroyed.
Dominican authorities say they are most frustrated by their inability to keep smugglers behind bars, despite toughened laws that raised the maximum penalty for convicted smugglers to 20 years in prison.
''The problem is that we submit them to justice, but there aren't witnesses willing to come forward to testify against them,'' Peralta said. ``So they get out of jail and get right back into business. It's a vicious cycle.''
Peralta said cooperation with U.S. authorities has been good but that more resources are needed to curtail the flow of migrants headed to the United States.
''We have the personnel; what we need is equipment,'' he said.
PUBLIC EDUCATION
The illegal emigration has grown so much that a Dominican singer born in Miches founded an organization six months ago to educate people on the risks involved through community workshops.
The organization, Media Luna, is named after an islet that lies between Puerto Rico's western coast and Miches, on this country's northern coast, used by boat captains as a waiting spot. Authorities say captains equipped with cellphones wait there for word that a load is ready before making the 45-minute dash to pick up passengers.
''I grew up watching people leave,'' said singer Luz Marcela de la Cruz, 30, known simply as Marcel. ``By the time I was 15, there were hardly any youth left in my hometown.''
De la Cruz said a close friend disappeared on one of those trips, along with 37 other passengers.
It's not known how many others die in the risky passage.
''I have to do what I can to help my community,'' said de la Cruz, who would like to see her town developed as a tourist attraction. ``Our mission is to save lives. We encourage people not to leave, but if they are adamant about getting on a yola, then we at least want them to take precautions such as life vests.''
Navy officials patrol the streets of Miches on motorcycles. Pistols hang from their hips, and some walk around carrying rifles.
''We work 24 hours a day, but you can never catch all the people attempting to flee,'' navy Lt. Heredia said.
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