17 adults and five minors of different nationalities were found by troops on the boat.
In 2024, the Naval Institution has safeguarded the lives of 262 people in the Archipelago.
As part of maritime control and surveillance activities in San Andrés, the Colombian Navy found and rescued 22 migrants of different nationalities, 27 nautical miles (50 kilometers) southwest of the island, when they were making irregular transit in Colombian Caribbean waters.
Together with the Colombian Air Force, the Naval Institution detected in the morning hours, a boat that was sailing suspiciously. Immediately, the Specific Command of San Andrés and Providencia through the Coast Guard Station, sent a Rapid Reaction Unit - URR in the area, which managed to find the ship named Veratil with 24 people on board.
It was established that there were 13 adults and four minors of Venezuelan nationality, three Chinese, one Nepali and one Colombian minor; in addition to two individuals of Colombian nationality, who would be the alleged responsible for transporting these people illegally to Central America.
The people were taken to the dock of the Coast Guard Station of San Andrés and put into custody of the authorities to carry out the relevant procedures. The minors, for their part, were handed over to the Colombian Family Wellbeing Institute - ICBF, for the restoration of their rights.
The two Colombian crew members were arrested for the alleged crime of migrant smuggling, according to article 188 of the Colombian Penal Code: “Anyone who promotes, induces, constrains, facilitates, finances, collaborates or in any other way participates in the entry or exit of people of the country, without compliance with the legal requirements, with the aim of profiting or any other benefit for himself or another person, will incur imprisonment and a fine.”
Source: Press - Navy of Colombia
