(UnitedHeadlines.com) – On Dec. 20, a boat commonly used for human smuggling was found washed up in the Latigo Shores area of Malibu, California.
Photos show the panga boat had several gas cans, which appear to have been used for fuel storage, and a piece of a motor that looks like it broke off the back of the vessel. The wealthy beach community of Malibu is located over 100 miles north of the southern border with Mexico.
The United States Coast Guard stated it is investigating a “possible migrant landing.” The incident was reported to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, according to a Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station representative, which is affiliated with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
This is the second boat found in the area this month. A video from Nov. 28 shows a 25-foot boat with about 25 migrants on board washing up on the shore of a beach in Malibu, a half-mile from the $100 million oceanfront mansion of Barbra Streisand. The video shows the migrants scrambling from the scene after the boat lands on the beach. Authorities located another boat capsized in the waters off the beach with life jackets and gas cans, although no people were found in the water. Authorities responded to the scene but could not locate the people that had been aboard the boats.
There have been record-high migrant crossing numbers at the southern border since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021. Over 6 million migrants have crossed the southern border since he was elected. More than 2.1 million migrants have been apprehended at the border and then released into the interior of the United States with court dates for as late as 2035. During fiscal year 2023, more than 3.6 million migrants crossed the border, the highest of any year on record, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics.
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