CBP Doubles Its Enforcement Zone Around Puerto Rico to 24 Miles

On August 25, U.S. Customs and Border Protection pushed its enforcement reach around Puerto Rico out from 12 nautical miles to 24. The new Customs Enforcement Area, published in the Federal Register that day, takes in the water around the main island and the nearby islands of Mona, Desecheo, Vieques and Culebra, out to 24 miles or to the nearest international boundary, whichever comes first.

Puerto Rico is one of four such areas. The others are South Florida, Central and Southern California, and the Gulf Coast of Texas.

What changed

CBP’s routine customs authority used to stop at the 12-mile line. According to the agency, smugglers have worked that limit by holding just outside it, moving cargo between boats at sea, and running it ashore at remote beaches. Inside the new areas, customs officers can board any vessel within 24 miles, examine its papers, its cargo and the people aboard, bring it into port, and seize or arrest where the law allows.

The legal tools aren’t new. The Anti-Smuggling Act of 1935 lets the government declare enforcement areas like these, and a 1999 presidential proclamation set the U.S. contiguous zone at 24 miles. CBP is now using both, following a June executive order that told it to step up customs enforcement. A bill in Congress, the Extending Limits of U.S. Customs Waters Act, would make 24 miles the standard limit everywhere.

What about the Virgin Islands?

The notice doesn’t mention the USVI. But Culebra lies close enough to St. Thomas that a 24-mile line drawn around it covers much of the passage between them. The only limit in the notice is an international boundary, and there isn’t one between Puerto Rico and the USVI, so nothing cuts the line short on that side. To the east, the BVI boundary is the limit.

If you’re crossing between Culebra and St. Thomas, expect to spend most of the trip inside the area. The notice doesn’t say how CBP will handle the overlap with USVI waters.

What it means if you’re cruising

The stated target is smuggling. A cruising boat with its paperwork in order shouldn’t notice much beyond more patrol boats and aircraft, farther offshore than before.

The rules that actually catch cruisers are the arrival-reporting rules, and CBP has been enforcing them all year in Puerto Rico and the USVI. You have to report your arrival when you:

• come in from a foreign port, including the BVI
• move between Puerto Rico and the USVI, in either direction

Most people report through the free CBP ROAM app. You’ll need a login.gov account, and an officer may start a video interview before clearing you. If you can’t use the app, call CBP instead: Puerto Rico 877-529-6840, St. Thomas 877-305-8774, St. John 877-305-8773, St. Croix 340-719-2857.

Failing to report costs $5,000 for a first offense and $10,000 after that, and the boat can be seized. CBP’s San Juan office said in June that it had issued 12 penalties totalling $60,000 since January. In September it reported three vessels seized in Puerto Rico this fiscal year and “multiple” seizures in the USVI. One boat was seized in St. Thomas after its operator filed through ROAM but refused the required video call, then never went to a port of entry.

None of this changes how you island-hop between Puerto Rico and the Virgins, as long as you report each time you cross. For the details, see our guide to electronic customs and immigration clearance for yachts.

Sources

• Federal Register 2026-17354 (Aug 25, 2026): https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-08-25/html/2026-17354.htm
• ST&R Trade Report: https://www.strtrade.com/trade-news-resources/str-trade-report/trade-report/august/cbp-expands-jurisdiction-in-waters-off-southern-borders
• San Juan Daily Star (12 penalties / $60k, phone numbers): https://www.sanjuandailystar.com/post/cbp-small-boats-must-report-arrival-or-risk-fines
• Virgin Islands News Online (Sept 5 seizures): https://www.virginislandsnewsonline.com/en/news/multiple-vessels-seized-in-usvi-after-operators-failed-to-report-arrivals-cbp

captain has written for ALL AT SEA since 2020.