Puerto Rico now hosts a new, $4.7 million marine unit facility of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s air and marine operations (AMO).
Located on nearly an acre of land, the facility plays host to a new 41-foot SAFE Boat, filled with safety equipment and electronic packages to enhance operational effectiveness. The new vessels have four 350 horsepower Mercury outboard engines, have a range of 350 nautical miles and are capable of patrolling for 10 hours. In all, 13 full-time staff will man the facility in Ceiba, Puerto Rico.
“We have several satellite locations in Puerto Rico, but this new Marine Unit Facility provides us with a centralized location to more effectively conduct our mission to interdict drugs and protect the American people,” Johnny Morales, director of the Caribbean Air and Marine Branch, said.
The expansion of the AMO branch brings its total employees to somewhere around 1,800 federal employees, operating in the United States as well as its territories in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.