Operation Able Manner

In 1993, Operation ABLE MANNER commenced. This operation concentrated Coast Guard patrols in the Windward Passage (the body of water between Haiti and Cuba) to interdict Haitian migrants. Operation ABLE MANNER continued until a new government was in place in Haiti in 1994. Today, Haitian migrants still leave Haiti attempting to reach the US. Many travel to the Bahamas and enter on smaller boats, while some attempt direct entry to the US in large boat loads. There is a Coast Guard Liaison Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Port au Prince, Haiti, who handles various migration, counterdrug, and international engagement issues with Haiti.

In 1994, the Coast Guard was involved in its largest peacetime operation since the Vietnam war, responding to two mass migrations at the same time-first from Haiti, then from Cuba. Over 63,000 migrants were rescued and prevented from illegally entering the US in Operations ABLE MANNER and ABLE VIGIL. At its height, Operation ABLE MANNER involved 17 US Coast Guard vessels, patrolling the coast of Haiti while Operation ABLE VIGIL involved 38 Coast Guard cutters patrolling the Straits of Florida.