Passenger ferry hijacked in Cuba, US sends negotiators

yahoo.com ^ | April 2, 2003 | AFP

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Hijacked Ferry Boat Returns to Cuba *** An FBI spokeswoman in Miami said that agency negotiators flown by helicopter to the scene of the ferry standoff were standing by on the Coast Guard cutter while Cuban authorities dealt with the situation. The ferry was drifting in international waters about 60 miles off Key West, she said. Fidel Castro's government said it would handle the crisis in the Florida Straits. The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that Cuba had taken the lead role but said it was ready to assist. "What we won't do in any case is to use measures of force that put in danger the lives of the people aboard this boat," the Cuban statement said. It said 50 passengers were on board.

The cooperation between agencies from both countries underscored the worries both American and Cuban officials have about the recent rash of hijackings. In a highly unusual move, the top U.S. diplomat in Havana on Wednesday night warned Cubans not to undertake any more hijackings, telling them in a message read on communist-run television that they would be prosecuted and lose the right to seek American residency. The message by James Cason, chief of the U.S. Interests Section, demonstrated growing worries about the possibility that such hijackings could end in violence or spark a migration crisis. ***