Posted on 03/26/2004 4:46:00 PM PST by blam
Rescued cavers held in visa row
Press Association
Friday March 26, 2004
Six British cavers rescued after being trapped for more than a week were plunged into more trouble today, this time with the Mexican authorities who said they would be detained for questioning.
The five British military personnel and their civilian guide had been stuck in the waterlogged caves since last Wednesday before being rescued yesterday.
Two British divers, assisted by several Mexican underwater specialists, helped the six men swim with scuba equipment one by one to the surface of the huge cave complex at Cuetzalan during a six-hour operation.
However, shortly afterwards, Mexican authorities announced the entire 13-strong team, which includes the five military servicemen who were trapped, would be detained and questioned about possible breaches in visa laws.
Mexico's assistant interior secretary, Armando Salinas, said that after the men had been taken to a nearby military hospital they would be questioned by agents from Mexico's National Immigration Institute.
Mr Salinas told a press conference: "We have reason to suppose that their actions could touch on our immigration law. Their stay was legal as tourists, but there are indications that their activities were not of this type."
After treatment in the nearby city of Puebla, Mr Salinas said they would be taken to a migration detention centre in the Mexican capital to be held pending a full investigation.
The move deepens the diplomatic row that erupted last week when the Mexican government expressed concern about why the men were in the country in the first place, on tourist visas and without any permits. President Vincente Fox ordered a "letter of protest" be sent to the British government demanding answers.
At the time, Vijay Rangarajan, the acting British Ambassador to Mexico, dismissed concerns that the cavers were doing anything other than exploring on a military adventure training exercise as "pure fantasy".
Mr Salinas refused to say what punishment the Britons could face, but said under Mexican migration law they could be expelled or jailed if they had broken visa laws. "Once they are medically evaluated, they will be placed in the custody of immigration authorities," he said.
He added that no equipment was recovered from the cave to suggest the Britons were on any kind of secret prospecting mission for uranium; one of the wilder rumours about the team's motives that circulated in the Mexican press.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We undertook the trip in good faith as we have done for 20 years without any problems using the same visa that we have always used. However, if there is a problem, that is something we are willing to discuss with the Mexican authorities."
Earlier the spokesman said the men were "in good spirits, happy and intact" and looking forward to a rest after their escape before returning home.
The cavers said their first thoughts as they walked up the humid valley was for cold beer and being reunited with their families.
Toby Hamnett, one of the cavers who had been taking part in the military adventure training exercise said: "We're feeling quite cheerful."
Another of those rescued, Jonathan Sims, insisted the team was never in any danger but had suffered from too much media attention. He said they would have preferred to just wait underground for the water to run off so that they could walk out without assistance.
He said: "The thing is, everything went as planned. We thought we might have a problem with the [water] so we put in a plan, we had food in there, communications. The unfortunate thing is we got too much media attention."
The expedition was due to last 36 hours but the route out was blocked after heavy rains raised the water level in the cave.
During the rescue operation, one of the specialist divers, who had flown out from Britain, had gone through to the cave to be with remaining men inside and instruct them on how to use the scuba equipment.
The other guided each person through the flooded u-bend they needed to swim through to reach ground level.
The rescue team had landed in Mexico City two days ago before heading for the Cueva Alpazat cave complex north east of the capital.
The stranded men were part of a group from the Combined Services Caving Association, which began the expedition on Monday last week.
The military personnel were named by local state authorities as Jonathan Sims, Charles Milton, Simon Cornhill, Chris Mitchell and Tony Hamnett but the MoD would not confirm any names.
The training expedition, Exercise Cuetzalan Tiger, was to teach leadership, self-reliance and endurance skills. The expedition was in the Cueva Alpazat caves, which span eight and a half miles near the town of Cuetzalan in central Puebla state.
This must be a joke. Mexico is upset about THEIR visa laws?
Sabertooth, I don't mean to upset you .....
This is a very poor translation. I think Mr. Salinas is really saying "These guys need to get on the phone and tell their relatives to wire lots of money over here muy rapidamente. The price of a 'exit visa' just went up."
I agree with you. You couldn't pay me to set foot inside Mexico. To me, the words "corrupt" and "Mexico" are synonymous.
LOL. The below could be a telling statement.
"the team was never in any danger but had suffered from too much media attention."
I am shocked that Mexican Immigration Law might have been broken!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.