Authorities in the United States said more than 100 Haitian migrants had been found on an uninhabited island near Puerto Rico. According to Al Jazeera, Haiti is still reeling from a humanitarian crisis brought on by growing gang violence.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesman Jeffrey Quinones said Tuesday that park rangers from the Puerto Rico Department of Environment and Natural Resources found the group of Haitians on Mona Island.

"What we know preliminarily is that they were transported in just one vessel," he noted. It was unknown whether anyone in the group drowned before authorities were alerted of the situation. According to Quinones, authorities are still interviewing the Haitians.

The group consists of 60 women, three of whom were pregnant, and 38 men and five children aged 5 to 13, said Anais Rodriguez, secretary of the Puerto Rico department that discovered them.

Political instability and violence in the Caribbean nation pushed Haitian migrants and asylum seekers to travel to the United States, often by sea, in recent months. Late last week, the United Nations warned that roughly 4.7 million people are experiencing acute hunger across Haiti.

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Haitian Migrants Are Leaving Haiti Despite Uncertainties

Human smugglers have long used Mona Island as a staging area for their flimsy boat trips, promising to transport migrants from the Dominican Republic and Haiti to the U.S. territory.

Mona Island is situated in the dangerous waters between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Dozens of migrants have already died trying to leave their countries in the past few months.

Authorities said they rescued 68 Haitian migrants in July. They were dropped off near Mona Island, where at least five other migrants perished.

"The conditions in Mona are inhospitable," Quiñones said. "Smugglers do not have any regard for the safety of the people they're transporting. They pile them up in a boat," he added.

The Guardian reported that U.S. Customs and Border Protection has already detained 571 Haitians and 252 Dominicans from October 2021 to March 2022. Meanwhile, a total of 348 Haitians were rescued on Mona Island.

Haitian Migrants Were Also Rescued From a Boat Off the U.S. Coast

On Wednesday, 96 Haitian migrants were discovered and saved 20 miles east of Boca Raton in Florida. WPTV reported that men, women, and children were in distress on an overloaded 40-foot boat.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the group was at sea for seven days, and the final two days were spent without food or drink. The number of Haitian migrants intercepted has increased dramatically over the last two years, from 1,500 to more than 7,000, according to the most recent statistics provided by the Coast Guard.

"They're seeking change, they're asking for change, and they deserve it... The fact that they are not getting is heartbreaking," said Francky Pierre-Paul, who lives in West Palm Beach but calls Haiti his homeland.

Haiti is having trouble with a new wave of cholera and a lack of basic essentials. The Pan American Health Organization said 35 people have already died from the disease, with nearly 600 suspected cases this month alone. 

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: 96 Haitian Migrants Rescued From Boat off Boca Raton - From WPTV News