US immigration officials have arrested the captain in a deadly boat tour accident in New York Harbor that killed a 27-year-old woman and her five-month-old daughter, authorities said late Wednesday.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained Manuel Hernandez, 46, after a Coast Guard investigation found that the El Salvador national was unlawfully in the United States, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
It said Hernandez illegally entered the United States through Texas in 2007 and lied to a border official that he was a US citizen.
“Once he faces justice for his crimes, we will make sure that he is swiftly removed from our country,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement.
Federal prosecutors have charged Hernandez with two counts of misconduct and neglect resulting in death after the August 8 capsizing near the Statue of Liberty.
A criminal complaint said the vessel was over capacity with 14 people onboard, more than the 10 allowed, and did not have life jackets for children.
It alleges that Hernandez did not have the required licenses to operate the New York Harbor tours.
The boat capsized when Hernandez performed a U-turn and a swell swamped the vessel, before everyone was thrown overboard, according to the document.
The victims, Sara Sanchez and baby Antonella Garcia, were pulled unresponsive from the water and later pronounced dead at a New York hospital.
Return to Venezuela? Capital punishment first, than you can ship his body back.