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Six members of the Dominican navy were arrested for allegedly accepting bribes to allow a boatload of migrants to depart for Puerto Rico on an ill-fated trip that left some 55 people dead or missing, navy officials said Saturday.
The three officers and three sailors arrested Friday will be tried in a naval court, said spokesman Col. Sandy Tejaba.
Tejaba said the arrests were based on testimony from residents in El Limon, the northeastern town where an estimated 86 Dominicans departed July 29 for Puerto Rico. Their boat’s motor broke down after two days and they drifted for 10 days.
Authorities on Tuesday rescued 39 people off the coast of Nagua. The navy continues to search for the missing.
