Agents of the Border Patrol and of the U.S. Coast Guard, detained 71 Haitian migrants who arrived on several islands off the coast of western Puerto Rico, officials said.

The first group was spotted early Friday, when the Coast Guard has arrested two Haitians on the island of Monito, Border Patrol said. A Coast Guard ship and Border Patrol helicopter rescued 69 other Haitians who arrived on the island of Desecheo, near the town of Rincon.

The majority of migrants were dehydrated and have been transported to the hospital for treatment before being taken to the Border Patrol's Ramey Station in Aguadilla, a city in western Puerto Rico, before being deported to Haiti.

It is the second largest group of migrants detained in Puerto Rico in recent days. Last week a group of 67 Cubans, Dominicans and Haitians had been arrested.

HL/ HaitiLibre