Drowning inquiry rules out Haitian smuggling angle

A US government investigation found that the boatload of Haitians that drowned off the coast of Florida last month had spent almost a month in Cuba just before that, getting food and supplies to continue their voyage to the United States, the New York Times reports.

US Justice Department investigators also concluded there was no ''mother ship'' run by smugglers that dropped the Haitians off in US waters in their rickety boat, as Florida officials originally thought.