And, in other news...
Tonight, 7 Cubans are awaiting repatriation to Cuba after they were saved on the high seas by a cruise ship on Monday.
With new video, Jules Vasquez looks at that inspiring rescue and traces how things went downhill from there:
This was the dramatic scene aboard the Celebrity Apex on Monday:
7 souls adrift at sea in a makeshift sailboat - all saved when the cruise ship pulled up alongside them. The Cruise Director said on Tik Tok that saving them was the only choice:
Cruise Director Lewis, Celebrity Apex
"Today was amazing. We rescued seven people on board Celebrity Apex. Quite incredible. I'm just getting ready to go and play the pool volleyball now, but I've had a lot of people asking since they seen the video."
"Yes, these people were at sea. They were at sea for five days. There were seven people in total. There's four men, three women coming from Cuba. Again, stranded at sea for five days. We were able to find them, pick them up, get them on board."
"They've been checked over by medical. They've been taken care of by the onboard team. They're now in cabins, which have been allocated specifically for them. They are on security watch, obviously, making sure that they're detained, but taken care of, that they're healthy, they're safe."
"And we will obviously then hand them over to the local authorities in whichever port, obviously accept them. And if they don't accept them, then we'll take them back to Fort Lauderdale and we'll hand them over to the CBP officers there."
"So quite an incredible day, an emotional day. We saved seven lives today because safety of life at sea and lives absolutely matter. So well done to the bridge team and our captain. Thank you."
Belize's most senior naval officer says the cruise ship Captain did the right thing:
Admiral Elton Bennett, Commandant, Belize Coast Guard
"There's the international convention that is referred to as SOLAS, the safety of life at sea convention that requires all vessels to render aid whenever you'd come across mariners in distress out at sea, and that's what the cruise ship did. They were obligated by international law to assist those people in distress. It so happens that Belize was the next port of call, the responsibility then was to bring those individuals into safety and that's what they did. It's not the responsibility of the government of Belize to look after those individuals and to make a determination on what they do with them. What the cruise ship did was the right things to do."
They did the right thing - but reports tell us it was against the wishes of the top brass at Immigration - who reportedly sent a letter scolding the Cruise line's shipping agent.
They then deposited the 4 men and 3 women - all claiming to be Cubans - at the Immigration office in Belize City.
They were today taken to Belmopan - because while some of them have Cuban identification papers, others don't. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been tasked to lease with the Cuban Embassy to confirm their identities.
From there the Belize Ministry of Immigration has committed to find a way to repatriate them back to Cuba - which is probably the worst news for these 7 from San Luis in Pinar Del Rio, Cuba. Their best outcome probably would have been this:
Cruise Director Lewis, Celebrity Apex
"If they don't accept them then we'll take them back to Fort Lauderdale and we'll hand them over to the CBP officers there."
And while this did not work out after 5 days adrift at sea - there could have been far worse outcomes.
Tonight, they are safe and dry in Belmopan.
We'll keep following the case to see what happens next.
