Above: Haiti President Michel Martelly
By the Caribbean Journal staff
Haiti President Michel Martelly expressed his “sadness” on Thursday following the deaths of 17 Haitian nationals in the port of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos.
The migrants, who were traveling illegally to the archipelago, were killed when their boat capsized while being towed by TCI police.
Martelly said he sent his “deepest sympathies to the families of the victims of this tragedy.”
Haiti’s President took the occasion to “avoid risking their lives on the high seas through makeshift boats.”
Illegal migration to Turks and Caicos continues to be the source of disagreement between the two countries.
It is the second major incident involving Haitian migrants in the region within a month, following a tragic capsizing near Miami in October that killed at least four people.