By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

DEFENCE Force Commodore Raymond King said the Royal Bahamas Defence Force has established a blockade in the south-eastern Bahamas to guard the country’s borders against possible mass migration from Haiti.

He said that resources dedicated to the blockade on the northern coast of the Haitian Windward Passage include six surface assets, one aircraft, and 120 Defence Force personnel.

He added that overlapping sea patrols are being conducted on the northern coast of the Haitian Windward Passage and the Old Bahama Channel.

 He said aerial intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance patrols would assist in detecting any early movement of migrant activity toward The Bahamas.

 Commodore King said the mass displacement of some 400,000 Haitians in the capital and metropolitan areas of that country and the recent jailbreak of 4,500 prison inmates present a national security concern for The Bahamas and other neighbouring countries.

 Haiti is in a state of emergency after gangs attacked two prisons in the capital and two airports on that island over the last week.

 According to Commodore King, the 3,500 prisoners who remain at large include people accused of the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, dangerous criminals, and gang members.

 He said the escapees could flee Haiti for The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Cuba, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.

 He believes these people are inclined to become involved in gang violence, homicides, and transnational criminal activities, including illicit weapons smuggling, drug trafficking, and human trafficking and smuggling as sources to fund their activities.

 He noted that there are collaborative vessel patrols in conjunction with the Turks and Caicos Islands. TCI Coast Guard personnel will be on board Bahamian vessels as ship-riders.

 The US Coast Guard vessels are also being deployed in the area as part of the overall effort.

 “There is intelligence information sharing between regional partners, including OPBAT, TCI, the USCG, and the Cuban Border Patrol,” he added during an Office of the Prime Minister press briefing yesterday.