Trio Capsized Off Coast of Cuba and Rescued by Cruise Ship Turn Out to Be Fugitives, Feds Say
— -- In addition to providing family entertainment and vacation packages, the Walt Disney Company also occasionally aids U.S. Authorities in capturing fugitives on the run in international waters.
Three individuals were found on Thursday clinging to a capsized boat about 40 miles north of Varadero, Cuba, by the Disney Fantasy cruise ship, federal authorities said.
The three were rescued by the Disney cruise liner and turned over to the U.S. Coast Guard, who discovered upon fingerprint analysis that two of the individuals had outstanding arrest warrants in New Orleans, according to U.S. Marshal Amos Rojas Jr. of the Southern District of Florida.
Luis Rivera-Garcia, 26, Juliet Estrada-Perez, 23, and Enrique Gonzalez-Torres, 23, were wanted for violating their supervised release on federal credit card fraud charges in Louisiana, according the U.S. Marshals Service. The three are Cuban nationals who had been living in the United States, authorities said.
"I think it was evident from the law enforcement standpoint that they were fleeing the U.S. to avoid federal and state charges," Barry Golden, Senior Inspector with the U.S. Marshals Service, told ABC News today. "Cuba is somewhat a safe place for fugitives to hide."
The three had multiple arrests between them for credit card fraud. Most recently, Estrada-Perez and Rivera-Garcia were arrested in Fort Myers, Florida, on April 18, and reportedly had been in possession of 28 fraudulent credit cards at the time, the U.S. Marshals Service said.
Disney Cruise Line officials declined to comment on the incident.
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