money, friends say
Boat from Cuba capsized during smuggling effort
By Ray Sánchez | Havana Bureau
11:05 PM EDT, April 15, 2008
HAVANA, Cuba - Cuban reggaeton artist Elvis Manuel and two associates
were lured on an ill-fated voyage with the promise of big bucks,
according to friends and relatives of the young star.
But the smuggling venture to deliver the 18-year-old singer, who is
presumed missing at sea, and other Cuban migrants to the shores of South
Florida capsized in rough seas just 50 miles from Key West, authorities
said.
Alejandro "DJ Jerry" Rodriguez Lopez, a 19-year-old performer who was
among the 14 people who survived the journey, said that he, Elvis Manuel
and another friend were assured millions of dollars if they left Cuba
immediately.
Rodriguez, and Elvis Manuel's mother, Irioska Maria Nodarse, identified
the producers as Eric Reyes, 32, and Lester Delgado, 23, of Millenium
Records Entertainment Corp. in Miami.
Neither Reyes nor Delgado could be reached for comment Tuesday. Reyes
told the Associated Press that he signed a contract to promote Elvis
Manuel in Latin America but denied any involvement in the failed
smuggling operation. He said he had hired a private plane to search for
Elvis Manuel on Tuesday, more than a week after the young singer and
four other migrants were lost at sea after their boat capsized in bad
weather.
"These were all adults and they are responsible for their own choices,"
Reyes told the Associated Press. "We're serious music members of the
music industry, not travel agents or traffickers."
The promoter said Elvis Manuel initiated contact with him by Internet
and he signed the young artist three months ago. Millenium was to
represent Elvis Manuel once he got to Mexico, where he was to tour,
Reyes said.
Nodarse, Rodriguez and a dozen other migrants were rescued by the U.S.
Coast Guard and returned to Cuba Saturday. Her son and four others who
were on the boat are presumed missing at sea.
Rodriguez said he and his friends were intrigued by fame and fortune.
"We were told we would be millionaires in two months," Rodriguez said.
"They said we would be signed for about $25,000 each on arrival. I
thought I would send my father $20,000 so he could build a palace in
Cuba. That kind of money lasts forever here."
Elvis Manuel's mother, who also survived the voyage, said her son and
his friends were "brainwashed" by tales of success across the Florida
Straits. Nodarse, who managed her son's career, decided to make the
journey with him.
"They filled his head with lies and promises," she said.
In Miami, Elvis Manuel's aunt, Mirtha Maria Nodarse, said she met the
two young producers for the first time after her nephew disappeared at
sea last week.
"I can tell you they're doing all they can," she said in a telephone
interview. "I don't know if they went to Cuba with promises of fame. I
met them after this happened. I don't know who they are."
The Border Patrol Saturday took two suspected smugglers into custody in
connection with the capsized vessel that carried Elvis Manuel, a
supervisory border patrol agent, Lazaro Guzman, confirmed. Both men are
Cuban nationals who had been paroled into the United States within the
past year, and their parole status was being revoked, Guzman said. He
had no information about the suspects' ages or identities.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are now handling the
investigation into the pair, Guzman said. He said the search for Manuel
continues and that Border Patrol agents have stepped up efforts at local
marinas to identify and apprehend smugglers, who now charge an average
of $10,000 per person.
"They only think about these people as cargo," Guzman said. "Now we have
a person missing at sea."
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials could not be reached,
despite several attempts by telephone.
Staff Writer Tal Abbady contributed to this report from Fort Lauderdale.
Ray Sánchez can be reached at rlsanchez@sun-sentinel.com.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/cuba/sfl-flrndcuba0416sbapr16,0,3746197.story
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