Man charged after migrant boat capsizes near San Diego, killing 4 passengers
Courtesy: CBS
A man is facing federal charges after a boat carrying migrants from Mexico to the United States capsized near San Diego, killing four passengers on board, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Monday.
Authorities believe that the man, David Alfonso Barrera Nunes, was the captain of the boat. The Justice Department announced two charges against him for bringing people into the country illegally, for financial gain and resulting in death, after his arrest on Saturday. He faces up to life in prison or the death penalty if convicted.
Barrera Nunes is scheduled to appear at a detention hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge David Leshner, of the Southern District of California, later this week. He could face the death penalty if convicted.
At about 11:30 p.m. on Friday, U.S. Border Patrol agents received notice of a small vessel crossing the international maritime boundary from Mexico. An hour later, they saw the vessel had capsized in six-foot waves off the coast of California’s Imperial Beach, which is near the U.S.-Mexico border. Several people were “emerging from the water” at the time, according to the Justice Department.
Nine people were believed to be aboard the boat, the department said. Four died, while the remaining five were either rescued, detained or both after it capsized.
Some surviving passengers told law enforcement that the boat had engine problems, and passengers argued with the captain as they urged him to turn back to Mexico, according to the Justice Department. One survivor said he was trapped inside the cabin, below the deck of the boat, when it flipped over into the water with him and others still inside. Another was severely injured after a piece of metal penetrated his leg while he was trapped.
“The captain refused and attempted to reach shore despite having no engine power, causing the vessel to rotate [in] the waves and capsize,” the department said. The captain was allegedly the second person from the boat to reach the shore and did not attempt to rescue the passengers.
Another man on the boat, Luis Enrique Barreto Goitia, was also federally charged for entering the U.S. illegally after previously being deported, the Justice Department said.
Capt. Robert Tucker, commander of the Coast Guard sector in San Diego that assisted with the rescues Friday night, said the incident was an example of the dangers of migrant boats, which are notoriously unsafe.
“Our crews and partner agencies responded immediately, but this case demonstrates the severe risks posed to aliens attempting to enter the United States by sea in unstable vessels,” Tucker said in a statement, according to CBS affiliate KFMB.
Small boats carrying migrants have capsized numerous times before, including in the same area where Friday’s incident happened. In May, five Mexican nationals were charged when one boat, carrying more than a dozen people, overturned off the coast of San Diego. Three passengers died, including one 14-year-old boy from India, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of California announced at the time.
